On Wednesday, August 18th, Discovering Justice welcomed 20 high school students from Camp Harbor View and their legal mentors from the Massachusetts Appeals Court into the John Adams Courthouse on Beacon Hill for the first in-person mock appeal event in over a year.
As part of their summer leadership program, Camp Harbor View worked with Discovering Justice and clerks from the Appeals Court to run this interactive four-week summer program. The students were immersed in the workings of the justice system and grappled with the intricacies of the first amendment surrounding a case about freedom of the press. The program culminated with the Mock Appeal at the Courthouse.
âIt is wonderful to be able to host legal mentors, students, judges, and families in the courthouse again,â said Mock Appeal Program Manager, Luke Matys. âAfter a year of being on Zoom, it was exciting to see the in-person interactions between the students and judges at the appeal in the courtroom. We are hoping to do more in-person events in the fall.â