HSU Insider

District Judge Thomas Wheeler Brings Criminal Case to Campus

• By Dave Coffield
• Posted October 9, 2008 11:27 PM
• 0 Comments

HSU students, faculty, and staff will have the opportunity to experience the excitement of a criminal courtroom first-hand beginning Monday, October 13th. The case involves a high-profile felony, and the defendant will either be released or remanded to custody, straight from the HSU courtroom facility, depending on the evidence and skill of the prosecution and defense. This is not a drill, the charge involves felony injury to a child, and someone may lose their freedom.

The Honorable Judge Thomas Wheeler of the 350th District Court will bring his courtroom to the Hardin-Simmons campus to give students a sense of what a legal career really feels like. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Sam Carroll, husband of Gracie Carroll, HSU associate vice president for academic advising & retention, will prosecute the case.

"It's so hard to get students to the court house to see how a real-world trial works," said Professor Sandy Self, associate professor of political science and director of legal studies. "So if I can't get them to the courthouse to see a real trial, then we'll just bring one to them." Due to the emotional nature of a criminal trial involving alleged injury to a child, she expects the HSU courtroom to fill up quickly.

Self arranged the first-ever criminal trial on a college campus at HSU over two years ago, a historic event in which District Judge Wheeler moved his entire courtroom to the campus to try a local man for possession of an illegal substance. That case resulted in a hung jury when the prosecution could not prove its case.

The trial will be held in the Elwin L. Skiles Social Science Building Courtroom (Room 114) beginning Monday afternoon, October 13th at approximately 1:00 p.m. and continuing until its expected conclusion on Wednesday, October 15th. Judge Wheeler will conduct jury selection prior to moving the court, give jurors a lunch break, and instruct them to be at HSU by 1:00. Self notes that jury selection is often more difficult when injury to a child is involved and the 1:00 start time may slip from 30 minutes to an hour.

While all students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend one of the sessions, criminal justice students as well as political science majors may benefit most from the proceedings. The format is come and go, but students are asked to be as quiet as possible when entering and leaving the courtroom. Judge Wheeler will have a question and answer period after the case is concluded to discuss students' questions about the proceedings.

Hardin-Simmons University offers an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice. Students may choose to pursue an emphasis in either corrections or police science and administration. The program integrates theory and practical applications through lectures, case materials, guest speakers from throughout the industry, and special events such as this live-on-campus case.