During the week of June 22, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Community Outreach and Diversity Committees of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association will offer Court Camp, an educational initiative for high school students. Court Camp is a five-day program, and it will take place at the United States Courthouse in Minneapolis. The students will participate in a mock trial and other learning opportunities, including civics education and presentations by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Defender’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and other law enforcement agencies. Hopefully, the students will also have the opportunity to attend a Naturalization Ceremony and a Reentry Court Session.
The students will have an opportunity to listen to a variety of legal professionals talk about the work they do and their areas of practice. Students will be paired with mentors. In addition, students will participate in a mock trial learning module on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and they will participate in a mock trial on Friday, the final day of Court Camp. We hope to help these students to better understand the justice system and to begin to prepare for a possible career in the law. We would greatly appreciate your help in finding mentors and mock trial volunteers.
Mentors
We hope that mentors will make an initial contact with their students in April to see if the students are still interested and to explore what the students hope to learn at Court Camp. Then the mentors will reach out after May 1 to let their students know that they have been “accepted.” Hopefully, this will engage our students so that the first day lunch is less “awkward,” and it will also help to lessen attrition.
The mentors will join the students at the United States Courthouse in Minneapolis for a group lunch (12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.) on the first and last days of the camp (Monday, June 22, and Friday, June 26). The mentors will provide insights into their own experiences in the legal profession, give the students encouragement, answer their general questions, and be a resource for possible career and school advice. Ideally, each mentor will be responsible for one student. Mentors will be asked to complete a background check.
Mock Trial Volunteers
The mock trial volunteers will teach the mock trial skill drills (opening statements, direct exam, cross exam, closing statements) from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then attend the mock trial from 9:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Friday. We would also welcome the participation of mock trial volunteers who are only available for two or three days of Court Camp.