Waltham Students Participate in Discovering Justice Mock Trial

News release from Discovering Justice.

Culminating a ten-week program in which middle schools partnered with legal mentors from law offices, law schools, and state offices, Waltham students presented their cases about the Fourth Amendment at an in-person Mock Trial at the Waltham District Court.

The Waltham students from the McDevitt Middle School conducted their hour-long trials to determine the outcome of a First Amendment case centered around a student’s free speech rights. In, Jordan King v. Granger School District, Jordan uses TikTok to aggressively call out fellow classmates for their environmental practices. Principal Smith tells Jordan to take down her posts, she refuses, and she is suspended. Jordan initiates a case against her school district for violating her First Amendment right of free speech.

“Our Mock Trial program prepares middle school students to engage on important issues in our democracy,” said Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Discovering Justice. “This fall the students in Worcester and across the Commonwealth had the unique opportunity to learn about First Amendment free speech issues, examine the workings of the justice system, and explore and question the ideals of justice.”

Discovering Justice is a civic education non-profit that provides after-school programs as well as in-school civics and social studies curriculum for K-12 students across Massachusetts. Taught by experienced legal mentors, students in the Mock Trial Program grapple with real constitutional issues, develop persuasive arguments, and practice questioning and examining witnesses.

This Fall, 34 middle schools across the Commonwealth participated in the Discovering Justice Mock Trial Program, the most schools in the program’s history. Statewide, the program serves more than 400 students with the help of more than 175 volunteer attorneys and 45 state and federal judges.