Law Academy Hosts Mock Trial Summer Camp

The GJHS Academy of Legal Studies held a mock trial camp this summer. The students were 9th or 10th graders this school year and many were interested in learning more about the legal field. Campers were assigned a case and they learned how to prepare and present a court trial.

During the camp, students took on roles as attorneys and witnesses. Learning included trial and court procedure, opening statements, direct examination, cross examination, the closing argument and professionalism. The culminating event was a full trial held in a courtroom housed at the school. The camp had visitors and guests from the Lakeland Bar Association and the legal community. Instructors included upperclassmen in George Jenkins High’s Academy of Legal Studies and members of the school’s mock trial team. The camp was funded in part by a $2,500 grant from the AT&T Success program.

The Jenkins Academy of Legal Studies is a program in which students take law classes in addition to their regular curriculum. The academy is part of Florida’s A++ education legislation requiring high schools to launch career and professional academies to expose students to careers in high wage, high skill and high demand fields. The Legal Studies Academy in¬cludes a classroom remodeled into a courtroom and furnished with a judge’s bench, clerk and witness stands, lawyer’s desks and a jury box. The courtroom also has sophisticated audio and multi-media capability for testimony and evidence presen¬tation. The courtroom was used for the first time in the 2008-2009 school year. A $23,000 Florida SUCCEED! grant was used to remodel a classroom into a courtroom. SUCCEED! grants were designed by the state to expand or create instruc¬tional programs in professions deemed crucial.