Local Students Try on Legal Roles at 25th 青少年法律展览会
2024年3月19日
On March 16 more than 100 high school students learned more about the judicial system up close at D.C. 担任高级法院的法官, 检察官, 辩护澳门赌场官网, 速记员, 还有模拟审判中的陪审员, 梅尔文R的一个标志性组成部分. 莱特青年法律展览会.
Now in its 25th year, the 青少年法律展览会 is a collaboration between the D.C. 酒吧社区和D.C. 高等法院 to introduce local youth to careers in the law through hands-on experiences at the court and to provide them a positive exposure to the justice system.
二十多年后, 该项目规模不断扩大, and at Saturday’s event six courtrooms were filled with students actively participating in mock trials guided by 高等法院 judges, 大澳门赌场官网公会会员, 还有其他志愿者.
Among those coaching the students was Senior Judge 梅尔文R. 赖特，青年法律博览会的先驱. “I always felt like the court needed to make a connection with the community,” Wright said. “这正是我们所设想的. The idea was to get young people involved in the court system in a way where they are not arrested, 他们或他们的父母没有被起诉, and they or their parents are not being evicted … it’s about exposure.”
The 青少年法律展览会 kicked off with Associate Judge Ebony M. Scott leading participants on a courtroom tour while explaining the differences between criminal and civil proceedings, providing an overview of the key players in a courtroom, 展示法庭技术.
当旅行正在进行时, Magistrate Judge Raquel Trabal prepared volunteer attorneys and law students to assist participants in the mock trials. “The goal is to have fun — make the process enjoyable for the students,” said Judge Trabal.
The mock trials are designed to reflect current issues in the District, 今年的事实模式集中在劫车. 根据大都会警察局的说法, roughly 63 percent of the 170 arrests made in 2023 for carjackings involved juveniles.
为模拟审判做准备, students and volunteers watched an artificial intelligence (AI) adaptation of the fact pattern and witness statements. “其中很多都是法律问题，而且非常严重, but a lot of it is performing — enjoy yourself and have a good time,地方法官诺埃尔. 约翰逊. 演讲结束后, volunteers were paired with students for coaching in their respective roles in the mock trials.
One of the courtrooms was filled with 24 male middle school and high school students associated with the Washington (DC) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 公司., which supports local youth to “speak up and speak out” by participating in events such as the 青少年法律展览会, 辩论队, 以及黑人历史月比赛.
在相邻的法庭上, Allora Olfus, 弗雷德里克·道格拉斯高中的学生, ruled on evidentiary objections and motions presented, 由裁判官菲利普. 混合泳. While Olfus has experience through her school’s mock trial team, 这是她第一次担任法官. 奥尔弗斯说，她的经历“令人伤脑筋”, but it was cool to see the different aspects of the courtroom, 从澳门赌场官网到证人，甚至是陪审团.”
前青年法律博览会参与者托马斯·韦弗, 霍华德大学法律系三年级学生, 还有韦斯利·杰克森·沃克, 俄亥俄州立大学的大三学生, 和美国人坐在一张桌子上.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), helping recruit and encourage students to become DOJ interns.
不久前, Weaver and Walker had met a DOJ representative at the 青少年法律展览会 and eventually had the opportunity to complete internships with the agency. “I was not the most enthusiastic [青少年法律展览会 participant], but that was because I did not know I was going to have fun, and I did enjoy the mock trial; I am just someone who needed a little more coaching to get out of the house,沃克说。.
了解更多关于的创建和影响 梅尔文R. 莱特青年法律展览会 在最新一期的 华盛顿澳门赌场官网.
Tynekia Garrett, a student at Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, is a D.C. 酒吧作家常驻2023-2024年.
