Starting last week and continuing this week, twenty-six mock appeal teams of Massachusetts middle school students will present their Fourth Amendment cases in front of a panel of judges and attorneys with their friends and family in the audience.

Grappling with the complexities of a case addressing the legal limits of a public school’s ability to search a student’s electronic devices, student attorneys are delivering oral arguments and fielding panelists’ questions – a difficult task for even the most experienced lawyer. In many cases, the panels have been divided on whether to side with the petitioner or the respondent, a telling sign that both sides were balanced in their presentations and theory of the case.

“Balancing students’ rights online with their safety in schools is an incredibly timely challenge. Our students start the program feeling very passionately about one of the two sides of the issue but over the course of the program they realize just how complicated and hard it is to figure out what is just,” said Mock Appeal Program Manager Luke Matys.

In a 39-0 bipartisan vote, the Massachusetts State Senate voted to increase funding for the Commonwealth’s Civics Project Trust Fund by 25% to provide more resources for state and local officials to work to bring civic education curriculum to students across Massachusetts. The vote helps restore a 25% cut in the Trust Fund voted in by the House in April.

To support the argument for more support for civics, a coalition of civic education organizations released Progress & Opportunity: Taking Stock of the 2018 Civic Education Law, and urged legislators to increase spending for the Civics Project Trust Fund in the Commonwealth’s FY24 budget.

As the budget process rolls on, the House’s FY24 budget passed a 25% decrease in the Civic Project Trust Fund from $2.0 million to $1.5 million. The Senate budget called for a 25% increase and funded the Trust Fund at $2.5 million. The two budgets now head to a Legislative Conference Committee to reconcile the difference. Thanks to the 16 Democratic and Republican Senators who signed on as co-sponsors – Senators Barrett, Creem, Eldridge, Feeney, Gobi, Keenan, Kennedy, Lewis, Lovely, Moran, O’Connor, Oliveira, Pacheco, Tarr, and Timilty.

The Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition, a 40+ member organization working to bring civic education to students in every school district in Massachusetts, has called on the Legislature to increase the Trust Fund to $2.5 million.

“Now is the time to increase funding for civic education and invest in our students. We need to prepare the next generation to protect and steward our democracy,” said Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Discovering Justice and Advocacy Chair for MCLC. “At a time when voting rates and civic engagement is mediocre at best, the Commonwealth needs to be investing in our youth to be civic leaders now and in the future.”

The legislative fight comes in the wake of a national study that shows civic education scores dropped for eighth graders and that just 22% scored at or above proficient level.

The Trust Fund, established in 2018 through the passage of the Civics Education Law, provides the resources for state education officials and grants for local school districts to build the civic education infrastructure needed to prepare students to engage in democratic action. Yet, since 2020, fewer than half of the grant proposals submitted by local school districts have received funding.

As part of Discovering Justice’s After-School Mock Appeal Program, middle and high school students and their caregivers participated in a seminar to learn about students’ rights around social media and school.

This virtual event “Know Your Rights: Social Media and the Law” was led by Citizens for Juvenile Justice and is called “Know Your Rights: Social Media and the Law.” Click this link to watch a recording!

Sponsored by the Federal Bar Association, the Annual Bill of Rights contest urges students to dive deep into the history and meaning of the first Ten Amendments.

This year’s contest challenged students to suggest what amendment they would add to the Constitution. The contest received close to 50 student essays advocating for innovative amendments.

First Circuit Appeal Court Chief Judge David Barron and U.S. District Court judges played major roles in The Annual Bill of Rights Contest celebration, from reading student essays to giving live feedback to the winners. Some of the proposed amendments protected guaranteed housing for all, protection of student privacy, and the right to an education.

The contest was open to students from Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. The first-place prize winner Daphne Athanasopoulos, from Boston Latin High School, was awarded $500, the second-place prize winner Adam Whitney, from Boston Latin High School, received $300, and the third-place prize winner Phat Do, from Boston Latin High School, received $200. There were cash prizes for honorable mentions as well.

Law Day at the Moakley Courthouse celebrated a dynamic program for students from fifth grade to law students. On May 3rd Discovering Justice, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the Federal Bar Association partnered to provide engaging and educational opportunities for over 150 students.

Students participated in Mock Jury Selections, the Bill of Rights Essay Contest celebration, and observed First Circuit oral arguments. In addition, Discovering Justice hosted an interactive scavenger hunt for fifth graders.

During the scavenger hunt, students from the Highlands School in Braintree met with various courthouse representatives. Representatives from the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, the First Circuit Library, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the Appeals Court for the First Circuit, were present at the scavenger hunt.

A crowd of more than 300 attendees on Zoom and at the Moakley Courthouse heard U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris, Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.), Justice Fernande R. V. Duffly (Ret.), and Judge Angel Kelley, talk about the inequalities, biases, and other barriers that stood in the way of their path to the bench, and how they overcame them.