Law students help teenagers take the bench in federal court

Eighth-graders from across metropolitan Phoenix will fill the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, Oct. 28, as part of a program designed to introduce youngsters to constitutional principles and the judicial system and to create a context for professional careers in law.

The program, CourtWorks, will provide about 300 students from ASU Preparatory Academy, Bethune Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, Kuban Elementary and St. Vincent de Paul Elementary schools the chance to experience the federal court system in action.

Assisted by students from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the pupils will re-enact a U.S. Supreme Court decision in an actual federal courtroom in downtown Phoenix. They will perform every role in the case, and act as judges, jurors, prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendants and witnesses.

The sessions will begin at 8:30 in the courthouse, 401 W. Washington St.

CourtWorks is a partnership of the College of Law and the U.S. District Court, led by the Honorable Mary H. Murguia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It is supported by Valle del Sol, a community-based organization with extensive ties to local communities and their issues.
 

Janie Magruder, janie.magruder@asu.edu
Office of Communications, College of Law
480-727-9052