Celebrating Civic Learning Week 2026
Civic Learning Week is a national celebration highlighting the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that provide the foundation for an informed and engaged populace, sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. The theme of 2026 was Liberty and Learning: Civic Education at 250. In partnership with the U.S. Courts in St. Louis, the Judicial Learning Center engaged student visitors in simulations designed to deepen their understanding of the how the federal courts work and an opportunity to practice and essential role of citizenship – jury service.
MORE ABOUT CIVIC LEARNING WEEK
During the week, the Judicial Learning Center and the U.S. Courts in St. Louis welcomed student groups to the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse for a week-long celebration. Bus transportation for each group was provided by the Eastern District of Missouri and the courtroom activities were supported by local attorneys from the Judicial Learning Center’s Board of Directors. Each of these groups began their visits with an activity in the Judicial Learning Center.
Monday & Thursday
Two groups from Francis Howell High School toured the courthouse and met with a United States Probation Officer. Both classes observed a change of plea hearing in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri and the participated in an interactive courtroom simulation, including voir dire and juror deliberations, led by local attorneys from the Judicial Learning Center’s Board of Directors.
Wednesday
A class from Margaret Buerkle Middle School had a unique opportunity to chat with the attorneys, court staff, and a probation officer preparing for a sentencing hearing in the Eastern District of Missouri. The students stayed for the court proceeding and then toured the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, where they engaged in a mock oral argument, imagining that the defendant had filed an appeal in the case they observed.
Friday
On Friday, the History Club from Hannibal High School met with an Assistant Federal Public Defender and an Assistant United States Attorney for a crash course on the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unlawful searches and seizures – specifically related to one’s home, and some key exceptions. After observing a sentencing hearing in the Eastern District of Missouri, the students broke into three teams: justices, petitioners, and respondents. The teams were coached by local attorneys from the Judicial Learning Center’s Board of Directors. The day culminated with a moot court activity in the Eighth Circuit’s En Banc Courtroom.
