Center: Chief Judge Diaz and Judge Wynn
Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, visit the Fourth Circuit to watch oral arguments during the court’s Spring and Fall sessions as part of their course on the U.S. Constitution. A Q&A session with the panel of judges they just observed adds to the significance of their experience.
“Teaching civics and the history of the United States could not be more essential to VMI’s mission of training citizen-soldiers for lives of service. We do that, in part, through a course on the U.S. Constitution. But there are some things one cannot fully convey in a classroom. How pressing constitutional questions are actually answered in court is one of those things. That’s what makes trips to the 4th Circuit so valuable. The judicial branch is simply more opaque to most Americans than Congress or the Presidency, but not for cadets who attend oral arguments. They leave with a strong understanding of what the federal judiciary does, how it does it, and, I think, this reinforces their trust in our constitutional system.”
Lt. Col. Mark Boonshoft
Associate Professor; Conrad M. Hall '65 Chair in American Constitutional History
Department of History
Virginia Military Institute