In partnership with the US District Court for the District of MA, Discovering Justice hosted its first Courthouse event of the year with a lively discussion about the importance and challenges of telling the stories of what goes on inside the courtroom.

“Writing the First Draft of Justice – The News Media and the Justice System” brought together three journalists; Chris Villani, a Senior Boston Courts Reporter at Law360, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, a Senior Opinion Columnist at The Boston Globe & MSNBC Contributor, and Patricia Hurtado, a Federal Courts Reporter at Bloomberg News in conversation with Senior United States District Judge George A. O’Toole.

The panel, moderated by Discovering Justice’s Executive Director Matt Wilson, highlighted the openness that COVID has brought to the system with increased access to the public through audio and video broadcasting. The journalists shared the decisions they have made around news coverage of the justice system, and stories from their careers around their coverage of court cases. Judge O’Toole talked about the tensions he and his fellow judges face balancing the need to protect the integrity of the case and the desire to inform the public of the important discussions going on inside the courtroom.

“The media often provides the filter of what we know and learn about the workings of the justice system. It is good to hear that from the Supreme Court to District Courts, the trend is to be more open to the media with their proceedings,” said Wilson.

Discovering Justice looks forward to working with the District Court to host future panel discussions and speaker events at the Moakley Courthouse this Fall and Winter.

After more than a year of virtual working and learning, Discovering Justice staff and volunteer docents will lead in-person tours at the Moakley Courthouse.

Discovering Justice’s tour has been revised and updated, incorporating new ideas first introduced in our Virtual Tour earlier this year around the civic values represented in the Moakley Courthouse. 

Discovering Justice is now accepting requests for tour groups of up to 15 people. Masks are still required at this time in the building. To book a tour for your Family, student group, organization or friends, email Henry Schunk at hschunk@discoveringjustice.org with the date and number of guests, Henry or one of the docents will be happy to show you around the history, symbols, and architecture of the Moakley Courthouse. 

Celebrating the inspirational role that mentors play in its program, Discovering Justice’s Annual Gala Mentoring the Next Generation: Pathways to Civic Engagement brought together more than 225 to raise vital funds for the organization’s programs.

 Highlighting the night was Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey receiving Discovering Justice’s 2021 Champion of Justice. Healey talked about the importance of civic engagement and the importance of getting students involved in our democracy.

The Gala, the largest fundraising event for the organization, raised more than $440,000, exceeding its goal by 10%, through sponsorships, ticket sales, donations, and a silent auction. Thanks to the 55 sponsors including our Presenting sponsor Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Champions of Democracy WilmerHale, Goodwin, and Ropes & Gray.

At the event, Executive Director Matt Wilson previewed Discovering Justice’s strategic plan and the organization’s priorities over the next three years. The Plan will be published and released to supporters this summer.

At the Gala, current and past Discovering Justice mentors and mentees shared their stories on how mentoring provides the confidence, vision, and wisdom needed for success.

Over the course of three days in the last week of May, 190 students from 22 schools presented their mock appeal cases to sets of judicial panelists before family members, friends, school administrators, and teachers. 

The Mock Appeal was a culmination of an 11 week program in which students wrestled with the intricacies and challenges of the first amendment rights, diving into cases concerning the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.

“The Mock Appeal program goes to the core of the Discovering Justice mission providing students the opportunities to examine the workings of the justice system, examine the ideals of justice, and prepare them to engage in our democracy,” said Mock Appeal Coordinator Luke Matys. 

This spring’s program was the largest ever, drawing students from Boston, Lawrence, Danvers, Rehoboth, Somerville, Lowell, Worcester, Framingham, Brookline, and Waltham.

The students delivered convincing, detailed arguments that often left the judicial panels impressed and, in many cases, divided on whether to side with the petitioner or the respondent,” said Matt Wilson, Discovering Justice’s Executive Director. “That is a telling sign that both sides delivered impressive presentations and demonstrated excellent knowledge of the theory underlying the case. 

129 legal mentors from various law firms and organizations across the Commonwealth made the Mock Appeal program possible this semester. Many of these mentors are new to the program this year, including teams from the Worcester Bar Association; Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.; Pyle Rome Ehrenberg PC; and Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP. 

The staff will be working over the summer to develop new cases for Discovering Justice’s Mock Trial Program in the Fall. With the addition of new schools this spring from Rehoboth, Framingham, and Danvers, the organization is looking to expand the number of teams participating in the fall.

During the month of April, students in our Mock Appeal program had the opportunity to hone their appellate skills with the assistance of federal and state judges.  Through the power of video conferencing, judges visited our students across the state and shared insider tips on how to deliver a powerful appellate argument. 

This session also gave students the opportunity to ask a wide array of questions to the judges. Students asked about the most interesting case the judge had ever presided over, what steps they took to become a judge in the first place, how it feels to make decisions that affect people’s lives every day, the judge’s thoughts on current events like the Derek Chauvin trial, and a wide variety of other topics.  

All this preparation will come in handy on the evenings of Tuesday, May 25th, Wednesday, May 26th, and Thursday, May 27th from 5:00 to 6:30 when our student attorneys present and defend their arguments as our appellate panels pepper them with questions. 

Although it can be a daunting challenge, our student attorneys always rise to the occasion and thrive off of these questions. As veteran Mock Appeal panelist and Federal Judge David Barron had said: “If you really want to know what the value of the program is, all you have to do is see the students take a deep breath at the end of it.” We hope you can join us in supporting our students from across the state as they exhale with a deep pride in the work they have done. To register to be part of our audience, please sign up through this online form by Monday, May 24th. If you are an experienced attorney or a judge who would like to serve on one of Mock Appeal panels and judge the student appeals, contact the program coordinator, Luke Matys (lmatys@discoveringjustice.org), by Friday, May 7th.