Students who may one day become lawyers are sought to participate in the South Coast Youth Courts.
From the South Coast Youth Courts
South Coast Youth Courts are looking for young men and women interested in serving their community as Attorneys in our diversion program.
Youth Court is a peer-run courtroom for youth that have committed a misdemeanor and school-based offenses. We have prosecution and defense attorneys in our courtroom that are trained to facilitate their roles. Traditionally we have a jury of peers (middle and high school age students) that decide the sanctions for the young respondent.
All sanctions are binding. If the young person does not successfully complete Youth Court they go to Juvenile Court.
We currently have Youth Courts in Fall River and New Bedford. Fall River runs on Monday evenings at the Fall River Police Department. New Bedford traditionally runs on Tuesday Nights at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. Our hearing nights are from 4:30 to 7:30. We try to run 4 cases a night depending on referrals.
Youth Courts do not run without youth attorneys. Where else will you get hands-on experience in a courtroom setting? You will be crafting opening and closing statements. You will be developing lines of questions both direct and cross. You will learn skills to interview family members and your respondents.
We are also the only two Youth Courts in the State of Massachusetts. No one else in the state will have this experience as a high school student.
Please email me at tswanbell77@gmail.com or call my office at 508-979-1580 if you are interested. We are going to have a training towards the end of June for all interested.
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