Blog – Justice Resource Center

NYC Mock Trial teams come in 2nd and 3rd place at State Finals

Regis High School, pictured above, placed 2nd at the New York State Mock Trial tournament

Congratulations to Regis High School and Hunter College High School for their strong showing (2nd and 3rd place, respectively) at the NYSBA Mock Trial state tournament!

The state finals in Albany marked the end of another successful season of Mock Trial. In New York City, nearly 90 schools from all five boroughs participated, and over 150 volunteer attorneys and judges gave their time and energy to provide this positive educational experience to well over a thousand students.

The Justice Resource Center would like to thank the teachers, school faculty, parents, and court staff for their hard work that makes this program possible.

Hunter College HS - 2017 MT NYC Finals — Hunter College High School celebrates advancing to the state finals on May 3, 2017 in NYC.

Justice Resource Center hosts annual Youth Law Conference

James B. Kobak, chair of the NYCLA Justice Center, gives opening remarks at the start of the conference.

The Justice Resource Center, in collaboration with the New York County Lawyers Association, hosted the annual Youth Law Conference on April 28th, 2017. Eighty-two students from 5 high schools attended workshops on various topics, from Art Provenance to Personal Injury, each facilitated by an expert attorney in their field.

NYCLA president Carol Sigmund and keynote speaker Columbia professor Christopher Riano gave inspiring speeches that resonated with the students. “It was Carol Sigmund’s energy that encouraged me to pursue a law-related career” wrote one student. Another wrote “I enjoyed Professor Riano’s speech because it taught me a lot of life lessons.”

Winners of NYCLA Essay Contest Announced

The Hon. Richard Lee Price (ret.) and the Law-Related Education Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) announced the winners of the 2017 Public High School Essay Contest at an awards ceremony at NYCLA offices on Monday, May 15th.

This year’s essay topic was the New York State Constitutional Convention. The top 10 essayists were invited along with their teachers and families. Members of the Law-Related Education Committee were present to congratulate the students and present their awards, including Larry Carbone, Marian Burnbaum, Sue Vairo, Margo Brodie, and Debra Lesser.

Top 10 Essayists
1 – Mersina Ziljkic -William Cullen Bryant High School
2 – Andrea Ma – Stuyvesant High School
3 – Steven R. Criscola – New Utrecht High School
4 – Anna Quach – Stuyvesant High School
5 – Arabelle Pierre-Louise – James Madison High School
6 – Brooke Jin – Stuyvesant High School
7 – Elizabeth Ashkinazi – James Madison High School
8 – Aaron Khan – James Madison High School
9 – Elahie Baksh – John Adams High School
10 – Alexander Henry – Hillcrest High School

Deadline Extended for Brooklyn District Attorney’s High School Internship Program

The Summer High School Internship is a hands-on experience that pairs students with Assistant District Attorneys, offering an insider’s view of the inner working of one of the largest DA’s offices in the country. Selected students will be assigned to a unit within the DA’s office and will support the work of Assistant District Attorneys and other members of the DA’s staff. The program is open to qualifying sophomores, juniors and rising seniors who reside in and attend school in Brooklyn. Applicants must be able to commit to the entire duration of the internship, which will run from July 10, 2017 through August 11, 2017, from 9am-4pm, Monday through Thursday, and 9am-2pm on Friday. Students will receive a weekly $150 stipend and a MetroCard.

To ensure that every student who has interest has the opportunity to apply, the application deadline has been extended to Friday, May 5th.

More information can be found at http://brooklynda.org/internships/

If there are any issues or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to them at (718) 250-4873 or hsinternships@brooklynda.org.

BDA PSHSIP FV1 (4)-1

(download this flyer here.)

Intern Duties:

Assist with legal research and analysis utilizing various sources such as the internet, news articles, and legal periodicals.
Provide assistance to attorneys and support staff at various phases of a matter including pretrial, conference and/or trial.
Perform a variety of paralegal and/or clerical functions, as required.
Assist attorneys with case preparation, discovery, file maintenance and organization of court documents.
Participate in workshops pertinent to different departments and legal zones.
Participate in judicial, legal and law enforcement observational field trips.
Observe criminal trials and defendants during sentencing in court.

JRC Nominee Wins Professional Educator Award

Tara Kelly accepts her award at the 2017 NYSCSS Convention

The New York State Council for the Social Studies presented the Outstanding Social Studies Classroom Teacher Award to Tara Kelly at their annual conference last weekend. Tara was nominated for the award by the Justice Resource Center in recognition of her “demonstrated exceptional teaching ability” in her Forest Hills classroom and with the JRC’s We the People workshops. Congratulations, Tara!

NYSCSS-NYS4A-550-wide