Our teams have finished their preparations and are ready to go for their trials next week! Congratulations to all the students and legal mentors for all the hard work they have done so far.
Next week, Discovering Justice returns in person to host Mock Trial teams from across the state at our annual Mock Trial events. Spanning four nights, we will be hosting events in Boston, Lowell, Rehoboth, New Bedford, Springfield, Uxbridge, and Worcester. After a year of virtual trials, we are excited to be back in person in our public civic spaces for this celebratory community event. Although the developing Omicron variant has prompted us to scale back on the size of our events, we are excited to safely gather and celebrate the hard work of our teams.
This week, Discovering Justice is sending out memos and updates to all participants including legal mentors, teacher coordinators, student attorneys, volunteer jurors, and family who will be joining us as part of the audience. Please be sure to read these memos and updates to help you prepare for your role at the mock trial. School staff who already interact with our student attorneys daily are invited to attend, but we ask that no other outside participants attend so we are able to monitor event size.
To our student attorneys, you all have worked so hard this past semester both in-person and online. We are constantly impressed by the level of dedication and enthusiasm you bring to learning about our justice system and working with your legal mentors. Make sure to do your best at your final mock trial. We know that you will make yourself and everyone who is there to support you proud.
See you at the trial!
–Luke Matys, Mock Trial Program Director
From the Community
Xiarha Duran’s Advice to Legal Mentors:
“Patience is probably the best thing that I could tell them."
Xiarha Duran, an eighth grader at John Sullivan Middle School and a returning Mock Appeal and Mock Trial student, is more than willing to put in the work. With some experience behind her, she shares what it takes to go to trial, and how legal mentors can best support their students.
Click below to hear Xiarha share her aspirations to be a future attorney, and keep an eye out for her at the Lowell Justice Center next week!
Pallavi George, a law student at Western New England Law School reflects on her semester long experience as a legal mentor:
“It’s got to be one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done in law school.”
Pallavi found her passion for education this semester as a Discovering Justice legal mentor. As a law student herself, she shares how the semester is going, her favorite moments, and how proud she is of each of her students.
When asked if she had anything else to share, her response was, “No, unless this is specifically going to my kids. I’m just going to say it—they are like the best group ever. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience with them.” (If you are reading from the Duggan Academy, pass along the love to a Mock Trial student you know!)
Click below to hear about the heartwarming moment when Pallavi realized she was making a difference.
Unpopular Speech in Schools
Mary Beth Tinker, Kevin Dua, and Mike Hiestand joined us just before Thanksgiving to provide our students with insights into different perspectives on free speech in schools. A conversation about the roles students, teachers, and the law play in schools as well as where to draw the lines between unpopular speech and hate speech ensued; following their thorough explanations, students were able to better understand the language used in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the precedent case they will be using in their own mock trials!
If you were unable to attend the event, you can listen to the full panel on unpopular speech by clicking the video below.
An Examination of our Past Sessions
Just this week, students across the state held dress rehearsals for their upcoming trials. After spending 9 weeks learning and working, they are finally almost there. Students were able to get insightful feedback from their legal mentors on the pieces they prepared for their trials, demonstrating their advanced knowledge of the case through their thoughtful witness questions: "Why do you think the speaker’s topic would go against the school’s mission? Is it true that an event hosted by the Planet Club last year negatively impacted certain students?”
Looking Forward: Mock Trial Culminating Events
Legal mentors, teacher coordinators, and Discovering Justice Staff are all thrilled to see our students' work pay off next week. However, we have heard some students are a little nervous. Is it something about presenting in State and Federal courthouses in front of real judges with a whole jury presiding?! Don’t worry, we totally get it! Click below for words of encouragement from the Mock Trial staff here at Discovering Justice.
