Teen Court and Social Justice Institute Team Up for Advocacy Workshop
On Monday, October 5, 2009, Teen Court, in conjunction with the Social Justice Institute (SJI), will be holding Teaching Basic Advocacy Skills with Pierce Law professors Mitchell M. Simon, Charles Temple and Amy Vorenberg.
Teen
Court is a volunteer opportunity for all Pierce Law students and alumni. It
is a national program that provides first-time juvenile offenders a
voluntary sentencing alternative that may allow them to avert the
criminal justice system. The Merrimack County Juvenile Diversion
Program in Concord runs this program and the hearings are presided over
by a sitting State Court judge.
The sentencing involves
teen attorneys and a teen jury, and law students act as mentors for the
teen attorneys before and during the hearing. The program gives law
students the opportunity to teach teenagers about the judicial process
and trial advocacy and work with local judges, attorneys and community
leaders.
At the workshop, Professor Simon will work with students on the power of persuasion. In particular, he will discuss how to develop a "theme" for a case and how to effectively deliver that theme persuasively.
Professor Temple will talk about ways to mentor new students, drawing on his years of experience as a clinician. He will also be discussing how a mentor can effectively teach, deciding when to let a student figure something out on their own or when to give more direct support. He will also be discussing the foundations of effective trial advocacy.
Professor Vorenberg will offer some basic pointers on working with first time juvenile offenders; explain emotional and psychological differences in juvenile versus adult offenders; and provide pointers on crafting opening and closing statements as well as conducting direct and cross.
Although geared to students working in Teen Court, Teaching Basic Advocacy Skills is open to all. Even if a student is not involved with the Teen Court program, this event is an excellent refresher on some fundamentals. For 1L's, this also serves as a unique opportunity to preview Fundamentals of Law—a class you may take in the spring.
Teaching Basic Advocacy Skills will be held from 4:15 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in room 200. Because food will be served, please RSVP culrich@piercelaw.edu by noon on October 2, 2009.Meetings for Teen Court are held every other Tuesday at the Probate Court in Concord from 4:30-5:30 pm. Anyone interested in the program can e-mail Alexandra Tronnes.