For professor Tony Fargo, teaching J551 Reporting the Law this spring was nothing short of an experiment. No professor or instructor of the IU School of Journalism had attempted to teach the class in more than a decade.

"The course had fallen off the books," Fargo said.

But with the help of 13 students, Fargo took J551 out of retirement and out of the state of Indiana. On the week immediately following IU's spring break, instead of returning to the classroom, the J551 students boarded a flight to Washington, D.C., to report on the Supreme Court.

"I wanted to give students an idea of how the judicial system works at the highest level and a sense of what sort of issues the court deals with," Fargo said.

The students reported on the oral arguments for cases on issues ranging from the First Amendment to patent law.

Junior Mallory Simon said that observing recently-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito made the experience unique. She noted how the personalities of the nine justices played off one another.

"Like {Justice Ruth Bader} Ginsburg - it seemed like she had a hard time getting things out," Simon said. "Alito and Roberts were sharp on the bench, and you couldn't really tell which sides they were on."

Graduate student Rich Powell said he was impressed by the attorneys' preparation in presenting the arguments.

"These people arguing these cases were so intimately familiar with the details of the cases. I was a little minnow in a sea of law," he joked.

Before the trip, some of the students researched the lower court decisions for the cases they were going to hear to get a better sense of the issues at stake. Many said they now have a deeper appreciation for the Supreme Court beat reporters who cover these types of cases.

Fargo's class met with one such reporter. At a luncheon at the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau, the students listened to Jan Greenburg, the Tribune's Supreme Court correspondent, recount her interactions with the justices. Senior Liz Gerwels said Greenburg's vast experience showed through in her insightfulness about how the different justices operate.

For example, after watching Justice Clarence Thomas on the bench, Gerwels said she didn't quite know what to make of his uninterrupted silence throughout the oral arguments she observed. But after Greenburg explained her perception of why Thomas doesn't frequently ask counselors questions, Gerwels said, "I think his philosophy kind of makes sense."

In addition to the Chicago Tribune bureau, students stopped by the New York Times bureau, where deputy bureau chief Richard Stevenson talked about the behind-the-scenes work involved in corresponding with desk editors located in different states.

The students said they were surprised to see that the newspaper many consider the best in the country had what they called "modest" accommodations in its D.C. bureau. Stacks of papers and files created mountainous barriers between desk cubicles, and hardly a decoration hung from a walls, painted manila to match the color of the aging news clips pegged on boards.

But former newspaperman Fargo explained that, "Essentially, it looks like every other newsroom."

On a final stop, the class visited Tim Goeglein (B.A. '86), deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Goeglein was one of his President George W. Bush's primary advisers in selecting Supreme Court nominees.

"I didn't really agree with his perspective," said Chris Collins, graduate student, after the stop. "But it was interesting to hear from an 'industry' expert."

"It was interesting to see what he was dancing around," grad student Stephanie Suvak added.

Students toured the new Tribune company bureau with Mike Tackett (B.A. '81), who is now the Chicago Tribune's bureau chief in Washington. They visited the National Press Club with Tammy Lytle (B.A. '83), who now is the Orlando Sentinel's Washington bureau chief. She's also a former president of the National Press Club, a gathering place and workplace for many journalists assigned to cover the capital.

Fargo said that without the help and encouragement of dean Brad Hamm, the trip would not have been possible. "He was the one who got me to think a little larger," he said.

Fargo also thanked Misty Pursley in the journalism office who, he said, "handled all of the heavy lifting" in getting the trip details worked out. Tim Franklin (B.S. '83), editor of the Baltimore Sun, was helpful in setting up the trip to the Tribune Company bureau and the meetings with Greenburg and Tackett, he said.

Other students who made the trip were graduate students Sarah Core, Megan Masengale (SPEA), Roy Maurer, and Elisha Sauers; juniors Phil Johnson, Rebecca Leonard and Rachel Warbelow; and senior Kate Pardo.

"This whole experience just reemphasized that the law affects our everyday lives," Suvak said. "The law trickles down. The law is everywhere and affects everyone."