Waltham Middle School Students Participate In Mock Appeal

WALTHAM, MA — Culminating a ten-week program in which middle schools partnered with legal mentors from law offices, law schools, and city offices, Waltham student attorneys presented their cases about the First Amendment at an in-person Mock Appeal on Tuesday at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, according to a news release from Discovering Justice.

Waltham students conducted their hour-long appeal on the issue of unpopular speech on school campuses. The fictional case posed the question of whether a school official could stop a student from bringing a provocative speaker to the school.

“We need to prepare our students to steward and engage in our democracy,” Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Discovering Justice, said in a statement. “Our Mock Appeal Program helps students examine the workings of the justice system, learn with lawyers, and explore and wrestle with 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 Appeal Program explore the justice system to learn about their First Amendment rights, grapple with real constitutional issues, develop persuasive arguments, and practice questioning and examining witnesses.

Twenty five middle schools across the Commonwealth participated in this spring’s Mock Appeal Program, the most in Discovering Justice’s history.