On March 2, 2023, 15 judges, 40+ mentors, and 190 high school students from nine local DC schools participated in the Society’s 18th Annual Mock Court Program.
The Society hosted a special program on May 11, 2022. Judge (now Justice) Ketanji B. Jackson, was joined in person by 21 juniors and seniors from an AP Government Class at School Without Walls in Washington, D.C.
On March 4, 2022, 166 local high school students from five different DC high schools participated in the Society’s Seventeenth Annual Mock Court Program.
The Society’s Sixteenth Annual Mock Court Program went forward on schedule this year. Covid restrictions meant that the Program had to be held virtually, which required unprecedented coordination among court staff, participating schools, teachers, students and attorney mentors.
The Society held its 15th annual Mock Court Program on March 6, 2020. This year, 135 Washington D.C. high school students made their first oral arguments in court.
Read about the reenactment of a famous Supreme Court case, New Jersey v. T.L.O., an argument on student rights under the Fourth Amendment.
For our re-enactment, Professor Gillian Metzger offered background in the landmark 1984 case before advocates John P. Elwood and David C. Vladeck presented arguments. Judges Judith W. Rogers and Gregory G. Katsas made up a lively Bench which concluded with Professor Christopher J. Walker moderating a panel discussion that included Elwood, Vladeck and Dean John F. Manning.
Judges who heard the Mock Court arguments agreed that the Maret, McKinley Tech, School Without Walls, and H.D. Woodson students were extremely well-prepared and presented their 1st and 4th Amendment cases masterfully.
Before arguing cases involving 1st and 4th amendment issues before 10 federal judges, over 125 high school students crowded into the Ceremonial Courtroom to be welcomed by Chief Judge Merrick Garland. After presenting their well-prepared arguments, the students were praised for their work by Chief Judge Beryl Howell and each of the participating judges.
A panel analyzed the current status of the political question doctrine and its conceptual underpinnings, looking specifically at cases involving impeachment, the war on terror, and political gerrymandering to assess the proper role of the federal judiciary in our constitutional scheme. Following Professor Stephen Vladeck's opening remarks, the re-enactment began.
