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DEL.ICIO.USI object! Pursuant to Rule 4-B …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Across Gwinnett — and beyond — top students in our high schools have temporarily set aside their interests — soccer, yearbook, literary magazine, school pageants — to take sides for and against a student charged with selling marijuana to an undercover police officer.
Sandy Bryant, an honors student and science club president, is accused of selling pot to undercover officer Chris Ewing in exchange for Ewing finishing a chemistry report.
Are the charges true? Or was Bryant set up by Ewing because the officer was under pressure to make a quick arrest?
Students have spent months studying the statements and evidence and learning points of law. They’ve practiced arguments as they walk the halls between classes. This weekend they’ll enter a courtroom at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center to present their case.
When they do, it will be easy for observers to forget that Bryant and Ewing don’t exist and that the alleged crime never occurred. Participants in the Georgia Mock Trial Competition make fiction seem real.
Ten schools in Gwinnett will send teams to the regional mock trial competition Friday night and Saturday. (Yep, that’s right. High school basketball won’t be the only match-up in town.)
More than 100 kids will take part, and about 100 attorneys and judges volunteer their time as well. The winner of the mock trial regionals will proceed to the state finals March 12-16, also at Gwinnett’s government center in Lawrenceville.
I was invited to watch the Brookwood High School team practice Monday at Snellville City Hall. (President’s Day may have been a holiday for most high schoolers, but these students were toiling away.)
Gwinnett Juvenile Court Judge Phyllis Miller and attorneys Larry H. Tatum and Warren Auld (a Snellville City Council member) worked as coaches, volunteer positions they have filled for years.
Brookwood teacher Colleen Blankenship, who has supervised the team for so long that her 8-year-old twins have become experts, also delivered pointers. Parents and a team-building expert weighed in as well.
Just the sheer volume of memorization of text and legal jargon was enough to make my head spin. Not to mention the way the kids cloaked themselves in the personalities they developed for their characters. I was impressed. And I caught myself wondering, “Was Sandy guilty or not?”
Gwinnett has a strong tradition in the mock trial competition. Gwinnett’s region is the largest in the state, Miller said, and competition is high.
In recent years, Wesleyan School in Norcross and Brookwood have earned top honors at regionals. South Gwinnett High School was the state champion in 1995 and 1991 and won the national championship in 1995.
Other local high schools participating this year are Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Meadowcreek, Norcross, Peachtree Ridge and Shiloh.
Students in mock trial don’t all join because they want to be attorneys.
“I’m interested in going into theatrics,” said Regan de Loggans, a junior. “The witness work helps in building characters.”
“I wanted to do an extracurricular activity that’s actually educational,” said Aireane Montgomery, a junior.
“Actually the last thing I ever wanted to do was be a lawyer,” said Maheen Shermohammed, a senior who’s thinking of majoring in neuroscience or social services. “ But I do love public speaking.”
Shermohammed is more into science, but her older brother was in Mock Trial, and somehow it became a family tradition, she said.
Others — such as senior Samantha Albert and freshman Can Tu Le —are interested in pursuing a career in law.
It can be challenging to fit the study and practice for Mock Trial around regular school studies, but the kids seem to manage.
“I find myself finding the most random times to practice,” Albert said. “Like, when changing classes, I’ll start saying my part.”
“One of the really cool things is about how diverse the group is,” Miller said. “We have black, white, Vietnamese, Muslim - just a very diverse group. ”
Miller says she has seen shrinking violets become articulate speakers through involvement in the mock trial. Tatum said he actually has learned a legal idea or two from the kids that he has been able to use in practice.
In recent weeks, the group has met five times a week, some on weekends. Often they meet at Miller’s house.
“I love to cook, so having a crowd is a plus,” Miller said. “And they eat like locusts.”
“After all of the time I spend in Juvenile Court, it’s great to come and work with these kids. … It’s such a positive program.”
Permalink | Comments (17) | Categories: Susan Gast
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Me
February 21, 2008 6:56 AM | Link to this
First!
By Mark
February 21, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
Me Grow up, loser.
Legalize pot! Alcohol is legal, and is 3 times more dangerous than pot. This country is so backwards!!
By MySnellvilleBlogDotCom
February 21, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this
I just want to clear up something for the person who wants to legalize pot, then I will comment on the blog post.
Marijuana is more dangerous than it used to be. The level of the active ingredient of Marijuana (THC) was 1 percent back in the 1970’s but now it’s around 7 percent. It is toxic. It is disruptive to the brain, causes risk to your cognitive abilities, your learning ability, and your memory. It also damages lungs faster than regular tobacco. All drugs are dangerous.
Now, back to the blog post - I think this is a great way to get kids involved. They are active participants in their learning. It requires more critical thinking and looking at all sides of a situation. Kudos to Mr. Auld and others who volunteer their valuable time to the kids.
By Norman
February 21, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this
Kids use the term “loser”, not adults.
By BobG
February 22, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
I hope these kids learn the “blame Emmett Clower and the Council” defense.
Then, this activity will have some real-world benefit.
By Tom
February 22, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this
MySnellvilleBlogDotCom
Sorry, but your theory is wrong. I’ve been smoking pot daily for over 40 yrs now. I have my own successful company, good intelligent children who also have nice jobs, a 300,000+ house paid off, a wonderful wife, and a random array of “toys” (cars, motorcycle, ATV, etc. So that blows your theory, Doc. BTW, have you ever lit up? Where does your data originate?
By MySnellvilleBlogDotCom
February 22, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
The data comes from David Deitch, Ph.D., the chief clinical officer of Phoenix House treatment centers, and the Missisippi Marijuana Project.
But as I said, marijuana’s not really the point of Susan’s post, which is about the kids learning the legal system, so I apologize that my post made you feel you had to defend your material goods and quality of your family. That wasn’t my intent at all.
By Tom
February 22, 2008 1:35 PM | Link to this
MySnellvilleBlogDotCom
You were the one who strayed off the blog to begin with. I wasn’t defending my material goods and family. I was merely proving your statement as not all true. Don’t believe everything you read. Being gullible gets in the way of logical thinking.
By GC Parent
February 22, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this
I have a recommendation. After the mock trial, have the students respond to a situation involving a school resource officer and a system panel. They will really get an education then and understand just how much they appreciate the rights the legal system gives them in comparison to their school.
By Publius
February 23, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this
Susan: Are you the President of the Warren Auld fan club?
If so, you could do a lot better.
By Mark
February 24, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this
Norman
10-4, loser.
By sportswoman
February 24, 2008 8:31 PM | Link to this
That is interesting. I was not aware there was such an activity. I think the benefits would be countless.
By Katie
February 26, 2008 6:37 AM | Link to this
Pot should be legalized. It does far less damage than alcohol. For the bible thumpers, Pot grows from the earth that god created so how could it possibly be bad? We should ban alcohol and legalize pot.
By FB
February 26, 2008 10:54 PM | Link to this
Katie & Tom you’re pitiful! I would consider you both boastful jerks!!! Katie, if you chose to be a pot head like your friend, Tom, fine! … but don’t call people who are opposed to it “bible thumpers” and Tom, maybe your success is derived from “luck” not from “pot” … I’m sure there is more to your story than what you post!!!
By lpc
February 27, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this
I would love to know the results of the competition. I know most schools in Gwinnett have teams, let’s recognize them all.
By Marvwmia
March 15, 2008 12:30 AM | Link to this
with that complete comprehension of their own interest, which exactly a pound weight of standard gold, or eleven ounces of fine gold, and one ounce of
By Marvwmia
March 15, 2008 12:30 AM | Link to this
with that complete comprehension of their own interest, which exactly a pound weight of standard gold, or eleven ounces of fine gold, and one ounce of