When Associate Justice Nancy E. Smith isn’t hearing appeals and motions from every court in New York state, she is stimulating the minds of future lawyers and police officers in a Rochester classroom.
Smith, who serves in the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, of the New York State Supreme Court, teaches criminal evidence part time with a professor in the Law and Criminal Justice Department at Monroe Community College’s Damon City Campus, walking distance from her downtown office. The idea of teaching intrigued Smith for many years, but it wasn’t until her children were older that she approached MCC.
In her third year at the college, the Pittsford resident team-teaches one course in the fall and two sections of the same course in the spring semester as an adjunct instructor with Professor David Pogue (West Henrietta). He has known Smith since 1982 when they began their legal careers in the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
“The students we have are very motivated and very bright; they’re interested in what they’re doing. I love when they ask questions,” Smith said. “I try to get as much interaction with the students as I can and try to make them think for themselves so I’m not just standing there lecturing.”
The students gain an advantage from Smith’s vast insight and experience in the legal field. They learn about admissible physical and testimonial evidence, confessions and illegal searches often through discussions of cases that are based loosely on appeals heard by state appellate judges. Some of the students also have an opportunity to work as unpaid interns in her office, researching and writing a wide array of legal issues while earning credit.
At the end of the year, the class conducts a mock hearing in the Supreme Court building to reinforce their knowledge of procedures and the law as well as gain hands-on experience in a courtroom. With Pogue presiding, the students follow a script, based loosely on real incidents, and take on roles of plaintiffs, defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses.
“Not many professors can talk about law and have a firsthand account. We’re fortunate to have Justice Smith,” said Rickey J. Harris, 25, who took the criminal evidence course in spring. The Rochester student hopes to attend the police academy and pursue a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Rochester Institute of Technology after graduating from MCC in December. “She was able to articulate the law. She talked about some of her cases – but she wouldn’t mention anybody’s names – and how they related to the topics she was teaching in class.”
On days when Smith’s schedule keeps her in court, Pogue is able to step in and conduct class. The team-teaching approach couldn’t be any better, they said.
“I don’t like to just plain lecture; I like to have that interaction. And quite frankly that’s how David is as well,” Smith said. “It works perfectly because we have the same style.”
It also happens that they interpret the law the same way, said Pogue, who has taught the course for more than 25 years and prepared most of the written materials.
“We tend to agree on the law. It’s not like the students are getting one story one week and another story another week. So it feels like we’re interchangeable parts,” Pogue said. “The class doesn’t lose a beat.”
For Smith, the teaching experience has been personally enriching and gratifying, particularly when she hears from MCC graduates who are preparing to go to law school. Although any higher education institution would jump at the chance to hire someone of her caliber, she said she feels a special connection to community college students and wouldn’t want to teach anywhere else.
“They’re full of great ideas and insight. It’s so much fun for me to watch the excitement on their faces when they engage in discussions. I get energized by it,” she said. “They surpass what I could possibly expect of any student.
“I’ll tell you, I have been a trial attorney, a trial judge, an appellate judge. … When I first walked into that classroom the first day as an adjunct instructor, I was terrified,” Smith said with a laugh. “I’m not anymore. I’m much more relaxed. I’m more confident in being in front of the students.”
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