law day
Law Day 2012
By Stacy Rieke
Georgia Mock Trial Coordinator,
State Bar of Georgia
T
he courts are essential to a free society and the courts
belong to everybody. Those are only two of the many
important law-related concepts volunteer attorney
coaches across Georgia teach students involved in the
Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition each school
year. The Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition is
a project of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of
Georgia, and since 1988, thousands of Georgia students in
hundreds of Georgia high schools statewide have benefited
from working with local attorneys, judges and teachers
through this academic program. The program provides
schools a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate with
their local legal community to give high school students an
inside perspective of the legal system, providing them with
an understanding of the mechanism through which society
chooses to resolve many of its disputes.
Students participate in the program by taking on the roles
of attorneys and witnesses in a court case. The type
of competition case varies from year to year, therefore,
students are able to learn about both criminal and civil
law and procedure. Attorney and teacher coaches assist
students in developing and improving their critical thinking
and oral advocacy skills, while encouraging students to
hone basic life skills such as reading, writing and reasoning.
Students involved on a competitive mock trial team also
enhance their leadership skills, as well as their goal setting,
strategic planning and implementation, professionalism and
constructive argumentative skills. These skills will stand
them in good stead throughout their lives, regardless of their
chosen career path.
This year’s Law Day theme is “No Courts – No Justice –
No Freedom” and participation in the high school mock
trial program improves student understanding of this vital
concept. Law-related and civic education help to develop
young citizens who can sustain and build our nation by
making a reasoned and informed commitment to our
constitutional democracy. Law-related and civic education
have also demonstrated promise in preventing delinquency
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
stacyr@gabar.org
by fostering social responsibility, personal commitment
for the public good and effective participation among our
nation's youth. Attorney and teacher coaches model the
highest standards of the legal and educational professions
by providing students with a practical understanding of the
way our legal system functions, including citizen participation
in that system. Coaches also further student understanding
of the role of the judicial branch as a co-equal branch of
government, including the concept of checks and balances
within the federal system. Participation on a competitive
mock trial team heightens student appreciation for the
principle of equal justice for all and the professional and
ethical obligations of lawyers. It also demystifies courtroom
procedures and promotes cooperation among young people
of various ability levels and interests.
Maintaining our democracy is not an easy task, for each
succeeding generation must commit itself to the ideals
and institutions that comprise our democratic foundations.
William T. (Bill) Robinson, III, President of the American Bar
Association, said in the Huffington Post Blog on December
14, 2011, “Judicial independence is critical to sustaining
our democratic form of government established by the U.S.
Constitution and developed through history. Judges must
have the ability to make decisions to protect and enforce
the rights of the people -- including the rights of the minority
against the tyranny of the majority. Their decisions should
be made without fear of reprisal or favor, and they should
not be subject to the whims and passions of the political
season. The public must have confidence that judges
will be impartial, making decisions by applying the law to
the merits of the case while not being swayed by outside
influence.” Our democracy is a living, constantly evolving
set of principles that must be nurtured and guarded by all its
citizens. Through participation in the Georgia High School
Mock Trial Competition, Georgia high school students are
in a far better position to understand and embrace their
important role as engaged citizens at the local, state and
national levels. ■
April 2012
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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