Law students prepare to educate high school students for 'Know Your Rights Day'

Photo courtesy of MSU Law

By Jake Jenkins
MSU?Law

A group of students at Michigan State University College of Law gathered for a demonstration March 29 in preparation to present and teach Fourth Amendment rights to high school students.

These students are volunteers for this year’s “Know Your Rights Day,” an annual event hosted by MSU Law and will be held April 14 at Cass Technical High School in Detroit for the third consecutive year.

This event was created to engage high school students in conversations about race, policing, and a young person’s Fourth Amendment rights when dealing with law enforcement.

The Fourth Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Student volunteers will be assigned to teach groups of students at Cass Tech about the Fourth Amendment, and how this affects their livelihood and what and what not to do when encountering law enforcement.

Some 25 student volunteers from MSU Law are involved this year and several have personal feelings about the topic of police interactions and want to educate as many younger students as they can.

Approximately 55 individual classes featuring students from 9th through 12th will attend.

“I believe knowledge is power,” said Brette Rappleye. “Criminal law is my passion and when it comes to police brutality and the things we have seen in recent years, some things could be avoided if people knew what their rights were — especially when they are carefully explained.”

Valerie Uduji and Josh Cambri are the lead coordinators for this year’s event.

“This is my first time working with ‘Know your Rights Day,’” Uduji said. “I worked in the First Amendment clinic my first semester and, as a black woman I felt this was a critical issue. I felt compelled to participate and talk to the black students as I know how important it is to want to hear this information from somebody that looks like you.

Cambri is no stranger to educating the students at Cass Tech as he was a student volunteer last year.

“I had the honor to teach last year but it was via Zoom,” he said. “Even in that environment it was still apparent how important this information was to students.”

Nancy Costello is associate clinical professor and director of First Amendment Clinic and has been supervising “Know Your Rights Day” since it started in 2016. Her experiences are what keep her so attached to this event and continuing educating those from her hometown.

“I was born and raised in Detroit and still live there,” she said. “I have seen first-hand what’s happening in these police confrontations and have seen it my entire life.”

Costello originally held clinics in Detroit high schools with MSU Law students, teaching First Amendment laws, but was approached by Anita Crouch, a teacher at Cass Tech, who wanted something more.

“I was in a unique position to try to help,” said Costello. “I had students who know how to teach high school students and all they needed was a different script while having criminal law professor who could help develop that script.”