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.\u00a0 Court Camp is a five-day program, and it will take place at the United States Courthouse in Minneapolis.\u00a0 The students will participate in a mock trial and other learning opportunities, including civics education and presentations by the United States Attorney\u2019s Office, the Federal Defender\u2019s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and other law enforcement agencies.\u00a0 Hopefully, the students will also have the opportunity to attend a Naturalization Ceremony and a Reentry Court Session.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 Students will be paired with mentors.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 We hope to help these students to better understand the justice system and to begin to prepare for a possible career in the law.\u00a0 We would greatly appreciate your help in finding mentors and mock trial volunteers.<\/p>\n
Mentors<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 Then the mentors will reach out after May 1 to let their students know that they have been “accepted.”\u00a0 Hopefully, this will engage our students so that the first day lunch is less “awkward,” and it will also help to lessen attrition.<\/p>\n The mentors will join the students at the United States Courthouse in Minneapolis for\u00a0a group\u00a0lunch (12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.)\u00a0on the first and last days of the camp (Monday, June 22, and Friday, June 26).\u00a0 The mentors will\u00a0provide 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.\u00a0 Ideally, each mentor will be responsible for one student.\u00a0 Mentors will be asked to complete a background check.<\/p>\n Mock Trial Volunteers<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 We would also welcome the participation of mock trial volunteers who are only available for two or three days of Court Camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.\u00a0 Court Camp is a five-day program, and it will take place … <\/p>\n