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Mock Trial Culminating Events

  • Mock Trial Culminating Events
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After-School

Mock Trial Culminating Events

December 8-December 15 | Boston, Brockton, Brookline, Framingham, Holyoke, Lowell, Pittsfield, Providence, Springfield, Uxbridge, and Worcester

The Mock Trial is as close as students can get to being a trial lawyer without passing the bar exam.

After ten weeks of working closely with volunteer legal mentors, middle school student attorneys will present their arguments before a federal or state judge and a jury of community members. Volunteer jurors help create a meaningful final event for participants in Discovering Justice’s Mock Trial Program. Jurors support our students’ and volunteers’ semester-long efforts by filling the jury box, listening to arguments, determining the case with the guidance of a real judge, and providing feedback. A legal background is not required to be a juror. You can register below. 

Become a Volunteer Juror

This December, Discovering Justice is hosting 11 Mock Trial events in courthouses across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This year’s Fourth Amendment case, Ross v. Clearmont High, is informed by the New Jersey v. T.L.O. precedent. Student attorneys will face off against their peers in plaintiff and defendant teams. Volunteer jurors will listen to students’ arguments to determine whether a school violated a student’s Fourth Amendment rights. 

Mock Trial Culminating Event Details by Municipality

 
Boston: Tuesday, December 13th, 5-7 pm | John Joseph Moakley U.S Courthouse
  • Boston Latin Academy/United States Attorney’s Office
  • Boston Latin School/ City of Boston Legal Department
  • Brooke Charter School East Boston/Dell and DJ Volunteers
  • Florida Ruffin Ridley School/Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
  • Match Middle School/ Mintz
  • Rafael HernÃĄndez Dual Language K-8 School/WilmerHale
  • Mildred Avenue K-8 School/General Electric-Jones Day
  • Saint John’s Parochial School/Goodwin Procter LLP-Boston University School of Law
  • UP Academy Boston/Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Brockton: Thursday, December 15th, 5-7 pm | Brockton District Court
  • West Middle School/Committee for Public Counsel Services – Brockton
  • East Middle School/Committee for Public Counsel Services Children and Family Law Division – Brockton
Brookline: Tuesday, December 8th, 3-5 pm | Brookline District Court
  • John D. Runkle Elementary School/Brookline Town Counsel and Law Office of Susan K. Howards
  • ***Florida Ruffin Ridley and Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office will be in the Moakley, see Boston event above
Douglas: Wednesday, December 14th, 3:30-5:00 pm | Uxbridge District Court
  • Douglas Middle School/Uxbridge District Court
Framingham: Thursday, December 8th, 3-4:30 pm | Framingham District Court
  • Cameron Middle School/Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and AB Sciex
Lowell: Thursday, December 15th, 5-7 pm | Lowell Justice Center
  • James S Daley Middle School/Committee for Public Counsel Services – Lowell
  • Stoklosa Middle School/Freitas & Freitas, LLP
  • James Sullivan Middle School/O’Donnell Law Firm, Lowell Public Schools, Law Office of Todd D. Beauregard PC, Law Office of Ryan P. Sullivan
  • Henry J Robinson Middle School/Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office
Medford: Tuesday, December 13th, 5-7 pm | John Joseph Moakley U.S Courthouse
  • St. Raphael Parish School/Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Liberty Mutual, Gelerman & Cabral, Krems, Jackowitz & Carman, Grant Law Office, Special Counsel Malden, Foley Hoag, Peabody Arnold, Beagan Law Office
Pittsfield: Friday, December 9th, 3-4:30 pm | Pittsfield District Court
  • John T. Reid Middle School/Committee for Public Counsel Services – Pittsfield, Cain Hibbard & Myers PC, Maduro Law
Providence: Thursday, December 15th, 5:30-7:30 pm | Providence Federal Courthouse
  • Nathan Bishop Middle School/United States Attorney’s Office – District of Rhode Island
South Hadley: Wednesday, December 14th, 3:30-5 pm | Holyoke District Court
  • Pioneer Valley Performing Arts/Bulkley Richardson
Springfield: Wednesday, December 14th, 4-6 pm | Springfield Federal Courthouse
  • John J Duggan Academy/MassMutual
  • The Springfield Renaissance School/Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division – Springfield
  • Springfield Conservatory of the Arts/Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
  • STEM Middle Academy/Connor & Morneau, LLP and Hampden County Sheriff’s Department
Waltham: Tuesday, December 13th, 5-7 pm | John Joseph Moakley U.S Courthouse
  • McDevitt Middle School/Morse and Gary Gordon
Worcester: Monday, December 12th, 5-7 pm | Donohue Federal Building and U.S Courthouse
  • Forest Grove Middle School/Committee for Public Counsel Services – Worcester
  • Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School/Amabile & Burkly, P.C., Central West Justice Center, Law Office of Tom Vukmirovits, and Committee for Public Counsel Services – Worcester

Kayla Nordman

Kayla Nordman believes strongly in expanding access to comprehensive civic education to provide the next generation with the resources they need to uphold and expand upon the values of American democracy and create a more equitable future. Before joining Discovering Justice, she worked as a Legislative Intern at the Massachusetts State House and as a Program Manager for the Massachusetts Center for Civic Education. Kayla graduated from Suffolk University with a BA in International Relations.