
Magistrate Judge Aboulhosn leads a courtroom simulation activity with students in which their teacher is "on trial" for assigning too much homework over the weekend.
Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn, Southern District of West Virginia, currently serves as the co-chair of the Civics Education & Outreach Committee for the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. Judge Aboulhosn has been conducting civics outreach
of his own initiative for decades and has connected with students of all ages across southern West Virginia.
His community efforts began in the 1990s when, as a practicing attorney, Judge Aboulhosn read to students in the classroom and took them on tours of the regional jail. Since becoming a state judge and then a federal judge, he regularly leads tours of
courthouses for student groups.
Judge Aboulhosn, whose wife and daughter are both teachers, observed that it can be difficult to make an initial connection with a school or teacher but, once a relationship is established, it is likely to be sustaining and rewarding for everyone involved.
Although he speaks with students of all ages, he particularly enjoys interacting with middle school students, who tend to be open-minded and willing to ask questions. Judge Aboulhosn relies on two keys to success in connecting with students: (1) know
your audience, and (2) bring candy to reward student participation.
During courthouse tours, Judge Aboulhosn asks students to sit in different parts of the courtroom and to think about what role each person in the courtroom plays. He often puts a teacher "on trial" for giving too much homework on the weekends, which usually
results in a guilty verdict by the students.
Judge Aboulhosn regularly connects with a high school classroom on Constitution Day, which this year is on September 17, 2024. "Especially after the last 6 to 8 years of acrimony" in our country, "it is important for students to hear about our Constitution,
that it has worked for all these years, and that there is a process" in place to follow the law. He thinks that explaining to students that courts base their work on evidence encourages them to listen critically for supporting facts and to question
whether things they have "heard" are based in truth.
"I think it is absolutely important for us as judges" to be involved in civics education, and to "let people see what it is to be a judge and how human we are." Judge Aboulhosn thinks that judges have a rare opportunity to make a profound and positive
impact by simply stepping into a classroom or in front of a group of students and talking with them.
If you or someone you know is a "Civics Champion," please reach out to be featured in a future newsletter: civics@ca4.uscourts.gov.

In 2020, Judge Aboulhosn conducted a virtual tour of a courtroom for elementary school students.