on LAW-RELATED EDUCATION Hon. Richard Lee Price, Chair Michael P. Stokamer, Esq., Vice Chair Susan M. Vairo. Secretary The Committee on Law-Related Education was started by our present Chair, Hon. Richard Lee Price, in the mid `80s. At the time, Judge Price saw a great need among young persons for education about our laws as well as an understanding of the legal process and the court system. Judge Price also saw a great resource in the courts and the lawyers who appeared before him to help provide this knowledge and to share their insight and experiences with students of all ages. Working together with the New York County Lawyers’ Association, Judge Price formed the Committee on Law-Related Education. Over the years our committee has evolved to include many different sub- committees, all created to further our mission to educate the public about the law, government and the legal system. The following is a summary of our sub-committees and accomplishments: 1. Lawyer in the Classroom (Michael P. Stokamer, Chair) This sub-committee runs an on-going program throughout the school year and enables LRE members to bring law to life for students in their classrooms and beyond. The program is offered city-wide to students of all ages. The LRE Committee posts ads in the United Federation of Teachers newsletter to inform teachers throughout the city of our Lawyer in the Classroom program. Teachers initiate the process by making a request to our committee for an attorney to visit their class and speak about a specific area of law, e.g., criminal, constitutional or environmental law. LRE members participate exclusively in this program. Last year we accommodated all requests for classroom visits and court tours. There are four facets to the Lawyer in the Classroom Program: i. Classroom visits The predominant focus of the Lawyer in the Classroom Program centers upon attorneys making classroom visits to speak about the law. A popular topic among elementary school children is conflict resolution while high school students favor a discussion on criminal and constitutional law. Teachers also request attorneys to speak on the topic of career development: How to Become a Lawyer and Law as a Career. LRE members accommodate all teacher requests. On average we receive about 50 requests per year and reach about 1,250 students through this program. Approximately 20-25 LRE members participate annually in the Lawyer in the Classroom Program. We are prepared to visit any class from grades K-12 as well as college level. We most often receive requests from Grades 3 – 12 and the community-college level. ii. Student visits to Judge Price’s courtroom Another aspect of the Lawyer in the Classroom Program involves class visits to Judge Price’s courtroom. Approximately 8-10 classes or 200-250 students visit Judge Price’s courtroom to observe a trial and learn about the legal system. During recess, Judge Price speaks to the students and answers their questions. He also provides them with our Youth Law Manual as well as other pertinent law-related materials. iii.Court tours Additionally, the Lawyer in the Classroom program coordinates 20-25 court tours for about 500-625 students per year throughout the city. Court staff give these classes a tour of the entire courthouse, including central booking, arraignment room, holding cells and courtrooms. iv. Internships Finally, the Lawyer in the Classroom program also arranges internships for students interested in volunteering at a law firm, government agency or for a judge. Approximately 4-6 students are placed in internships per year. 2. LRE’s Youth Law Manual This publication was researched and authored by LRE members as a reference tool for students throughout the city. Initial teacher training was offered by the Justice Resource Center and space for the training workshops was provided by NYCLA. As a result of this training session, approximately 60 law cluster schools received books. The Youth Law Manual contains the following chapters: a. Attorney/client Relationship, b. Consumer Rights, c. Motor Vehicle, d. Landlord/Tenant, e. Government Assistance, f. Family Law, g. Child Abuse and Neglect, h. Minor’s Rights and Duties, i. Arrest and j. How to Avoid Being a Victim. The manual also includes a list of important emergency telephone numbers for a variety of hotlines and legal services. Within these chapters, the Youth Law Manual provides valuable information to students in the areas of contracts, credit cards, leasing an apartment, child abuse and neglect, marriage, buying a car, social security, child support, school law, “if you’re arrested” and other pertinent rights and responsibilities. To date, 10,000 copies of the Youth Law Manual have been printed and distributed. Funding for the first 5,000 books of the Youth Law Manual was provided by the New York State Bar Association; funding for the second 5,000 books was provided by the New York State Attorney General’s office. We are presently in the process of updating the Youth Law Manual to reflect the most current changes in the law. Additional publications of the revised Manual are planned, however, no funding currently exists for such purpose. 3. Justice Resource Center (Debra Lesser, Chair) This sub-committee is run in conjunction with the Board of Education for the City of New York. The Justice Resource Center is located at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Manhattan and coordinates all law-related education programs and curriculum for public high schools and junior high schools throughout the five boroughs. Highlights include: i. Mock Trial Program and Competition This state-wide program, sponsored by the New York State Bar Association, enables students to prepare for an enactment of a Mock Trial. The Justice Resource Center coordinates this annual city-wide program which takes place over the course of six months. The actual competition is held at a courthouse. Participation in the Mock Trial program includes public, private and parochial school students. Each year a different legal issue is presented for students to analyze and prepare for trial. Participating schools field a team of approximately 9-12 students. Each team is presented with the same legal case. Last year’s case was a suppression hearing and criminal possession of drugs. This year’s case concerns endangering the welfare of a child. This year over 115 schools, 1,380 teams and 3,910-4,000 students are participating. New York City has the largest number of students participating. LRE and other NYCLA members are among those who volunteer to assist students either as team coaches or judges. Coaches help students prepare their case for “trial.” They provide on-going guidance as well as trial tactics for students to use as they assume the role of attorneys, witnesses and legal experts. Lawyers also volunteer to judge the competition within the courthouse. The winner of the city-wide competition goes on to compete at the state level in Albany, NY. NYCLA provides the use of its facilities for the teacher-orientation session held annually. LRE and other NYCLA members facilitate the training for teachers and the training of volunteer lawyers to serve as judges. Approximately 10-15 LRE members participate annually. ii. MENTOR Program and the MENTOR Moot Court Competition The MENTOR Program pairs law firms, corporate legal departments and government agencies with public high schools. The following represents four basic elements of the program: 1) lawyers visit their assigned class; 2) the class visits the law firm for a tour and informal lunch; 3) groups visit the court with an opportunity to meet court personnel and 4) an elective activity. In New York City the elective activity is the MENTOR Moot Court Competition co-sponsored by Fordham Law School. Forty teams participate representing over 320 students. The annual MENTOR Moot Court competition enables students to present an appellate argument. The final round is held in such high esteem that Judges from the Appellate Division, 1st Department preside over the round. MENTOR is replicated nationally and is funded by the Federal Bar Council. NYCLA is paired in the MENTOR program with Edward R. Murrow High School. An LRE member represents NYCLA in this endeavor. iii. “We the People” – Bill of Rights and the Constitution Program and Mock Congressional Hearing This national program, created by the Bicentennial Commission under the late Chief Justice Warren Burger, offers teacher training, free textbooks on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and an opportunity for students to compete in a Mock Congressional hearing. This is an oral competition that gives students an opportunity to debate constitutional issues, and by doing so, study and learn about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Classes are divided into units or teams, preparing different sections for the competition. All teams make oral presentations to a panel of judges. Classes who score the highest overall advance to compete on the state level in Albany. If a team wins the State competition, they have the opportunity to compete on the national level. New York City offers the same program to students who are enrolled in multilingual programs. They have their own competition and a winner emerges from that competition. This year 21 New York City high schools representing over 715 students participated in the competition (one of the largest in the country). Moreover, hundreds of New York City teachers are using “We the People” materials in their classroom. LRE members are among those who volunteer to judge this competition. 4. Law Explorers (Cheryl Katz and Larry Carbone, Co-Chairs) This sub-committee is coordinated with the Boy Scouts and is comprised of high- school-age students who are interested in learning about and exploring the law. This group is coordinated exclusively by LRE members. LRE members guide the group and organize activities that express the interests of the students such as court tours and law-related internships. 5.Law Books & Computers (Peter Berkowsky, Chair) This sub-committee was formed to enhance the availability of legal resources and computers to students throughout the city. Over the years LRE members have facilitated the donations of numerous legal publications to city schools. While these books may be considered outdated in the legal community, they serve as valuable reference tools for students who are studying about the law and its impact on society. The LRE committee has also coordinated the donation of many computers to city schools as well. As law firms update their hardware, LRE members arrange for a suitable donee for equipment that is no longer needed. We have been very successful in outfitting many schools throughout the city with valuable resources. 6. Law-Related-Education in the Workplace (Bruce Feffer, Chair) This sub-committee was formed to target adult audiences and further our mission to bring law-related education to “students” of all ages. Our committee arranges free lunchtime presentations for businesses within New York City. Topics are geared toward common areas of interest and include:
a. When and How to Choose a Lawyer, (and How to Find One); 7. Law Cluster Schools There are 79 law cluster high schools throughout New York City. These schools focus on law throughout much of their curricula and offer specialty classes for students interested in pursuing law as a career. Some of our LRE members are teachers at these schools. We also have LRE members on the Board of Directors for some of these schools. Through the Justice Resource Center, LRE members participate in teacher training workshops for topics such as those that appear in the Youth Law Manual. Below are some law cluster schools regularly spotlighted in our committee: i. Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice LRE is actively involved with this newly formed law cluster school. In addition to court tours, the school receives visits from Judge Price as well as other LRE members for a multi-dimensional learning experience. Judge Price is also a member of the Board of Directors. ii. Law, Government and Community Service High School This magnet high school is actively promoting law-related education. In addition to other activities, the school has added three new enrichment classes to its program: 1) after-school course tutoring; 2) after-school classes to assist students in making up a failed class and; 3) an extended day for seniors to prepare for the SAT’s. Judge Price and another committee member are on the Board of Directors. iii. Street Law Clinic at Springfield Gardens High School This clinic, for high schools students at Springfield Gardens High School, is run in conjunction with St. John’s Law School. Law students serve as teaching assistants to students in Mock Trials as well as courses in Family Law and Introduction to Law. High school students benefit from the individualized attention and law students earn credits toward graduation. 8. Law Day LRE members participated in the regional Law Day celebration by making presentations about the law to students at schools throughout the city. The LRE Committee is very pleased with all that we have been able to accomplish, particularly in light of the fact that much of our volunteering takes place during the school day and, therefore, also during the work day. Committee members continue to make themselves available during the work day and we have accommodated all teacher requests. Testimony of NYCLA President Stephen D. Hoffman on Law-Related Education
on LAW-RELATED EDUCATION Committee Members:
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