Boston-based nonprofit brings kids to the courtroom to teach the legal system

The Boston-based nonprofit Discovering Justice has been working with students to help them learn about the legal system and their rights.

The idea is to give the kids knowledge, skills and motivation to build and sustain an equitable democracy. At the elementary school level they may discuss justice on the playground and in the classroom. In middle and high school, they learn more about the legal system, by preparing for mock trials and mock appeals. There were 26 teams this spring. In May, we got an inside look as students from Brockton West Middle School discovered justice from the classroom to the courtroom. 

“I swear to do my very best as a student attorney, to uphold justice, to participate in our democratic rights and to become the best member of my community that I can be.” 

On the day of the Mock Appeal, the Honorable Michelle Fentress swears in student litigators from Brockton’s West Middle School.

But before they are sworn into the Mock Bar Association, students first go through 10 weeks of after-school training by attorney volunteers in their own communities.

“It really gives students a glimpse into the legal system as a potential career path,” explained Laura Brenner, the education program director for Discovering Justice.  “It also just gives them more sense of agency and advocacy around their rights.”

Students study the law and learn from professional prosecutors and defense attorneys.  

"All the appeal is, is just arguing the law. No more witnesses. No new evidence. No new testimony."

“Who remembers what the Fourth Amendment is?”

A student replies:  “They can't search your belongings without a reasonable suspicion.”

THEY LEARN HOW TO PRESENT:

Lawyers share tips on how to present their arguments, advice that be carried beyond the courtroom.

• Speak loudly and clearly.
• When you introduce yourself, you'll start by saying, Hello, Your Honor, may it please the court my name is….
• If you don't understand the question, it’s perfectly polite to say, “Your honor could you please rephrase the question?”  (The volunteers say they do it all the time)
• Come prepared.  When we lawyers appear in court, we practice, we go over what we want to say.

And so, students practice their introductions. On the day of our visit, they were interrupted by a VIP visitor: District Court Judge Michelle Fentress.

A VISIT FROM A JUDGE: WHAT WOULD YOU ASK?

“I'm from the community. I live in the community. I'm absolutely invested in your future,” said the Hon. Michelle Fentress, a judge in the Brockton District Court.

Weeks before she would hear their appeals, Fentress met with students, hoping the conversation would make the law appeal to them.

“You can always come to the court. It is your courthouse. You don't have to have to just show up for something bad. You can show up because you're curious and you just want to know what happens in your courthouse.” 

You can always come to the court. It is your courthouse. You don't have to have to just show up for something bad. You can show up because you're curious and you just want to know what happens in your courthouse.

Hon. Michelle Fentress

Students had a chance to ask all kinds of questions like:

"When you first started the job of a judge, have you ever asked for help?”

"I ask for help always and often," Fentress answered.

“Did you have to take a test to become a judge?”

"No. You apply. But it is a very long application process."

Even, "What building were you in, in high school?” (For the record, RED in Brockton High School!)

This personable, approachable, back and forth made an impression on the students.

“It was very exciting to see her for the first time," said eighth-grader Breana. “It’s like she really understands us.”

THE CASE

Students focused on a case prepared by Discovering Justice volunteers. The issue: was a principal’s search of a student’s laptop and cell phone justified at inception and reasonable in scope?

Below is a link to the fact pattern and the case the students prepared for in court. Check it out!

• Fact pattern

THE RESULTS

In the courtroom, there were two judges who shared the bench.  And each side came out as a winner.

“It was very empowering,” said Dasani, a seventh grader.  “And I think it helped each one of us get to learn about the Fourth Amendment and our rights.”

“I think it was very amazing. It was great to actually talk in front of all the parents and staff. We worked really hard on this,” Breana added.

The experience, the role models, and the care can add up to future opportunities. Princess, an eighth grader told us, “one of my dreams is kind of to be a lawyer.”

Her dad was moved by it all.

“I'm very happy the way she spoke so confidently. And I see her going places.”

Principal Carlton Campbell said that’s part of the bigger plan.

“Hopefully someday, you know, with this program, they will want to become lawyers and judges.”

Not everyone is an athlete or a musician. It's because of that, School Adjustment Counselor Maureen Hickey said, they are constantly looking for new opportunities for kids.

Hickney runs the Discovering Justice Program at West Middle School.  

“We look for a student who has some sort of maybe leadership potential in them. It also could be a person that's extremely shy, but you know that there's something in there that you just want to be able to bring out.”

It’s an opportunity she would have appreciated when she was younger.

“I, just like some of these students, lived in the urban area and only saw what was available to me from my community. So to have someone bring something else that's different, to give them that exposure I think is just it's just wonderful. Really wonderful.”

Parents agree. Dasani’s mom Sandra Beck summed it up this way:

“We live in America and our Black and brown babies need to know the rules and laws. So to see him participate in something like this, I wish every parent can put their child into something like this.”

LEARN MORE        

Learn more about Discovering Justice and the programs they offer around the state.

• Discovering Justice Website

Check out the student album from other appeals and events around the state.

• Album of student events across the state

Eighth-grade test scores in civics are at an all-time low.  That’s according to a nationwide assessment (the nation’s report card) given every four years. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/