"We live so well in the United States," Chelom Leavitt said. "There are so many people who would like to give back in the legal profession, but don't have the opportunity for that kind of service."

The two lawyers created the Leavitt Institute for International Development, with an office in Nephi and an office in Kiev. It was started with money the Leavitts raised privately, through family and friends.

The goal is to teach law students the fundamentals of the American jury system. A semesterlong course is offered at three Ukrainian universities. The Leavitts have raided their Rolodex of judges and lawyers, convincing them to volunteer their time and experience in the courtroom to influence a fledgling democracy.

"Few things that judges and lawyers do have such potential for positive change," Fourth District Court Judge Anthony Schofield said in an e-mail from Kiev, where he is teaching.

Third District Court Judge Denise Lindberg just returned from a two-week stint where she taught 240 students.

"At this point, there is a real misunderstanding. Even though the students are very bright, they come from a system that really has no concept of what constitutional guarantees really mean," she told the Deseret Morning News. "They acknowledge their constitution provides for jury trials, but that's a concept that was totally foreign to a Soviet judicial system. They don't know how it works and in some cases, judges and others in authority are rather suspicious about it."

Lindberg went over basic concepts — the powers of courts, why jury trials help preserve basic freedoms. Students come directly from high school and embark on a five-year program.

"They're relatively young, very enthusiastic and very open about the fact that their system does not work," Lindberg said. "I just keep telling them, 'If you want to change things, you are the ones that will make it happen."'

She also wants their education to be interesting. Among her ideas: unearthing a Russian language copy of the classic American film "12 Angry Men" that shows a dramatized jury deliberation.

System driven by bribes

The Leavitts don't speak highly of the Ukrainian justice system, which they said is still entrenched in a post-Soviet world.

"You can be arrested without even knowing what you're accused of. You can be imprisoned for months. You have little — if any — access to counsel," Chelom Leavitt said. "It's all pretty much driven by bribes. A defense lawyer's role is simply to mitigate the length of time the accused will spend in prison."

Beaten and forced confessions are admissible and the judges aren't much help, she said. An informal survey conducted in the Ukraine found 97 percent of judges admitted to taking bribes.