On May 23, teachers and first-grade students from Eastern Elementary School visited and toured Beaufort County District Courthouse to learn about the court system and conduct the Trial of the Big Bad Wolf, determining his fate.

Students’ names were thrown into a pot and randomly selected to participate as courtroom officials, attorneys and jurors.

Beaufort County Clerk of Superior Court Marty Paramore spoke to the students before the trial and explained where each person involved in a court proceeding was supposed to sit as well as the role each played.

Paramore said he does the trial every year through help from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the D.A.’s office and volunteers.

“When I was in elementary school, we came to the courthouse,” Paramore said. “It sort of sparked my interest in wanting to go into this line of work. When I got elected I wanted to start doing the mock trials again. It gives the kids an opportunity to see how our court system operates. It’s always interesting seeing the outcome of the trial is going to be because the kids make that decision. They try to figure out if the Big Bad Wolf is guilty of committing a crime and what the sentence is going to be.”

Students and teachers swore an oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” and the trial was underway. The defendant, the Big Bad Wolf, was presented to the courtroom and three little pigs, which were plaintiffs against the wolf, took the stand to give testimonies.

Each pig told the court how the Big Bad Wolf had blown their first two houses down and then climbed down the chimney of the third house. Both the defense, assisted by Beaufort County Assistant District Attorney Tom Anglim, and the prosecution, assisted by Matt Rice of the D.A.’s office, asked a series of questions for each pig and then the wolf to explain their sides of the story.

The jury of students decided the wolf was guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in prison and a ban from eating pork for the rest of his life.

First-grade teacher Kellie Mercer said the trial connected to the students’ literature study of the Three Little Pigs. The students read many different versions of the story and compared and contrasted the story versions. Mercer said the trip also connected with an earlier unit the students had studied this year, which involved recognizing, understanding and celebrating community workers in the area.

“It was really exciting for our children to observe and participate in an actual trial that pitted the Three Little Pigs along with the District Attorney’s office against the Big Bad Wolf,” Mercer said. “The fact that the children were the deciding factor of whether or not the Big Bad Wolf was guilty of his crimes was very impactful.”