Speak Up: Students visit Dover courtroom for staging of classic ‘Miracle on 34th Street’

The spirit of Santa Claus, aka Kriss Kringle, was alive and well inside the Kent County Courthouse on Dec. 14. Clear evidence of that was seen and heard, as visiting students jingled bells every time the jolly one’s name was mentioned during the 19th annual reenactment of the traditional Christmas movie, “Miracle on 34th Street.”

White-bearded Delaware Family Court Judge Jim McGiffin reprised his role of the man claiming to be Santa and was defended by former Delaware Attorney General Jane Brady in the staged competency hearing. In the end, retired Judge William L. Witham Jr. dismissed the case, despite the noble efforts of deputy attorney general Tetra Shockley to prove Santa does not exist.

• Unless this occurred on a weekend, this is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars! Have the students sit in on a real hearing. That way, they’re learning, the story isn’t hypothetical, and you guys in the courtroom are doing the job we’re paying you to do. — Karen Ward
• Bah, humbug, eh? — Bob Beckman
• Jane was relentless as an attorney general. — Yosemite Wayne