September 28, 2016 – The Justice Resource Center organized the 32nd Annual MENTOR Kick-Off on Tuesday September 28, hosted by Fordham Law School. The luncheon is an opportunity for MENTOR teachers and attorneys across the citywide “Law Cluster” to meet, discuss updates for the coming year, and receive the official materials for the 2016 Moot Court competition. Continue reading “2016 MENTOR Law Firm/School Partnership Kick-Off Luncheon”
Category: Featured
Justice Sotomayor Speaks To High School Law Cluster Students
September 15, 2016 – The Justice Resource Center, along with Just the Beginning Foundation, The Second Circuit and the NYS courts, coordinated a “Robes Program” at the Federal Courthouse as part of the Judges’ Minority Judicial conference. The Courthouses welcomed students and teachers from 9 different schools across the city for a fun and educational day. Over 300 students attended. The morning was spent acting out a voir dire exercise, with Second Circuit Judges and Judges from all over the country. Afterwards, the students had the opportunity to hear from the judges on their individual path to the bench. The day ended with a powerful and impassioned speech, followed by a Q&A, with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Students and teachers alike left with smiles on their faces and a new-found appreciation for the law and our legal system!
Call for Mock Trial Lawyer-Coaches
The Justice Resource Center has issued a call for lawyer-coaches for high school teams for the 2017 New York State Mock Trial Tournament.
High schools throughout all five boroughs need coaches. Coaching sessions usually take place after school hours, with teams meeting their lawyer-coach once or twice a week. All teams have a teacher-coach assigned to coordinate coaching sessions. The case will be distributed in early December 2016, and competitive rounds start in late February 2017. The top teams will go on to compete in the state finals in Albany May 21-23.
In addition, those who are eligible can receive up to three (3) CLE credit hours from the NYSBA for coaching a mock trial team.
If you are interested in serving as a coach, or know someone who might be, let us know!
Any questions? Email mocktrialjudges@gmail.com
James Madison Legacy Project Teachers’ Summer Institute
July 8, 2016 – Middle and High school teachers from NYC and Albany attended a five day professional development summer institute at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. As part of a US Dept. of Ed’s James Madison Legacy grant, teachers participated in outstanding sessions facilitated by scholars ( federal judges and law professors) based on the civic education materials, “We The People: The Citizen & The Constitution.” Teachers were assigned expert “We The People” Mentors to assist with implementation of a mock court hearing.
Federal judges and law professors presented topics on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The judges included: Honorable Reena Raggi & Gerad E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N.Y , Judge Paul Oetken, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N.Y. , Judge Joseph Bianco of the U.S. District for the Southern District of N.Y. and Magistrate Judge James Francis IV. The law Professors included: Chris Riano of Columbia University, Jeffrey Morris of Touro Law School, Steve Gilles & Martin Margulies of Quinnipiac Law School ,Myriam Gilles & Julie C. Suk of Cardozo Law School , Aaron Saiger & Benjamin Zipursky of Fordham Law School and Emily Gold Waldman of Pace Law School . Judges D’Agostino, Moses, Peck, Trust, Maas and Stewart presided over a mock court hearing on the final day. All of this was made possible by Chief Judge Robert Katzmann.
NYSBA Honors Randy Kaminsky and Ari Kahn
June 15, 2016 – On June 1, the New York State Bar Association Law Youth & Citizenship (NYSBA LYC) Committee and the Justice Resource Center honored Ari Kahn, Randy Kaminsky, and Bill Kahn at the U.S. Federal Thurgood Marshall Courthouse for their outstanding contributions to law-related education and New York City students.
