Ten Question, Two Minutes. Mock Trial Edition

Thurgood Marshall argued 19 cases before the Supreme Court

And he won 14 of them.

So, when Thurgood Marshall Academy fields a mock trial team, there are considerable shoes to fill. On Monday night, at the opening round of the annual Street Law Mock Trial Tournament, sixteen TMA students did their part to uphold his legacy.

The Street Law program at Georgetown University has been a TMA partner since our inception. Each year, a law student works with a group of seniors in a traditional classroom setting, both to teach the complexities of the law and to prepare students for the year-end tournament. During each round of the tournament, schools serve as both the prosecution and as the defense in multiple hearings of the same case. And after one round, the 2010 TMA mock trial team is undefeated, having won both as the prosecution and as the defense in a case about domestic violence.

Four students were recognized for outstanding performance: Melvin Atcherson and Mache Chase (for their work as attorneys) and Tashayla Savage and Tevin Brown (for their efforts as witnesses). Please come out to support the entire group this Thursday night at 6:00PM at the DC Superior Court House (500 Indiana Ave, NW) for round two.

The 2010 TMA mock trial team consists of:

Melvin Atcherson

Tevin Brown

Christine Cauley

Mache Chase

Rashada Coton

Shavari Cox

Andrea Daniels

Tiesha Dowing

Quentonio Hickman

Cin’Cerae LeaBough

Brittany McGhee

Franki Miller

Parris Roberston

Tashayla Savage

Imani Walker
Caprice Wilson

"The best field trip I've ever been on."

Eds. Note: Brian Rohal, Thurgood Marshall Academy's resident law professor, led this trip and contributed the following report.

[On Wednesday] 19 seniors went on a field trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, and then to a panel discussion and "mocktail hour" with a group of attorneys at the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski. It was a truly once-in-a-lifetime trip in which the students met some highly influential and inspirational people. Some of the highlights included:

• Being greeted by Justice Samuel Alito, who also ate lunch with the students.
• Taking part in a discussion of the historic civil rights case of Sweatt v. Painter led by John Payton, head attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Mr. Payton is the same attorney who argued (and won) the 2003 case of Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld the affirmative action policy at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Meeting and speaking with William Coleman, one of the attorneys who took part in the original Brown v. Board case in 1954 and who went on to argue many other important civil rights cases. Mr. Coleman, who has had a long career in public service, including serving as the Secretary of Transportation under President Ford, is 90 years old.
• Sitting in on a panel discussion with several successful minority attorneys who spoke of the challenges and rewards of pursuing a legal career, as well as general college and career advice.
• Spending an hour meeting several dozen attorneys of various backgrounds, including the current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, who is one of the most significant players in prosecuting major drug rings in the United States and Central America.

Overall it was a uniquely memorable day spent out of the school building. The fact that it happened is entirely due to Emma Levine, who made contact with the Just the Beginning Foundation in Chicago and followed through to make sure that our students were able to take part in a day that one of them called "the best field trip I've ever been on."

This is what democracy looks like!

Fifteen TMA students and our intrepid Mr. Hendricks spent Sunday afternoon directly engaged in our democratic society. Students in Spanish II have been studying immigration this past quarter an on Sunday they decided to join the rally for immigration reform that took place on the National Mall.  The rally stretched over three blocks on the downtown mall and, by some estimates, drew over 200,000 people.
    

Don't mock this trial

This past Friday, half of the 9th Grade participated in the latest installment of Law Day. Law Day, a four-part program that introduces students to facets of the law relevant to their lives, occurs every month throughout the course of one's freshman year at TMA. Themes of Law Day include discrimination, advocacy, and preparation.

On Friday, students studied various aspects of a criminal trial. Students, separated into 4 groups, then planned and performed a mock trial, The People vs. Zora Peters, using what they had just learned and incorporating eyewitness testimony and documentary evidence. In the case, Zora (a decorated martial arts student) is accused of battery after an altercation with her (lower-belted) peer Jamaal Bond. Students chose their roles, giving opening and closing statements, direct and cross examination, serving as witnesses and delivering the judgment in the case. Students thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on activity, relishing the opportunity to be a litigator in action. At the end of the afternoon, the results were split evenly among the 4 groups, with the defense winning two acquittals and the prosecution levying two convictions.

Above: Darnell Hudson channels his inner Thurgood Marshall in giving a eloquent and moving cross-examination of the prosecution. His performance, as one judge pointed out, was the pivotal moment in his client's eventual acquittal.

How do you spell debate? V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

The snowstorm that immobilized much of the district this past Saturday kept many in the comfort of their homes, but not TMA's fearless debate team. Despite the snowy conditions, members of the debate team made it out to Roosevelt Senior High School for the Urban Debate League's fourth tournament of the season.

The two topics they were set to debate?: The relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in modern education and whether or not the federal minimum wage should be raised to ten dollars an hour.

After three hours of intellectual exchanges and intense debate, the results were in. TMA went nearly undefeated during the course of the day, winning 7 matches and losing just one. With a dominating performance and an 87.5% winning percentage, TMA took home first place overall. In addition to taking taking home top honors, TMA earned some individual and team accolades. Tamara Johnson placed 14th overall out of all individual speakers. The team comprised of Tamara Johnson, Brian Crawford and Demetrius Suggs was 10th overall with a 3-1 record. Deycha Robinson and Alicia Hargrove's team earned 4th place by going undefeated on the day (See picture above. Wouldn't you be smiling if you were undefeated?)

Below is a picture of the entire debate team with their cache of trophies and medals along with with advisors, John London, Marielys Garcia, and Eleanor Lewis. If you're interested in joining a top-notch debate team and winning a lot of awards appeals to you, see Mr. London or Ms. Garcia. They are specifically looking for 9th and 10th graders to join their roster of great debaters.

America's Next Top Blogger - Week Four Winner - Marcellus Sanders!

This week, we asked students to provide their thoughts on the Gilbert Arenas situation.  Student responses ranged vastly, split nearly 50/50 among students who felt that Arenas had been unfairly punished and those who felt the league's actions were justified. This week's standout reaction came from sophmore Marcellus Sanders, who took a legalistic approach at explaining why he felt the punishment was undue. Attached below are his words:

I don't think his punishment is fair because they haven't finished investigating the situation and according to the law, "a suspect is innocent until proven guilty." If he hasn't been proven, why should he be reprimanded for his actions?

I feel that David Stern is making a little situation big because if the guns weren't loaded then he intended to do no harm to Crittendon. The only reason Gilbert was doing the six finger gun-shots in the warm-up is so they could get focused on the game and not let the investigation distract them. So far, he hasn't let this distract him because he scored 26 points on Saturday and he commented after the game about the situation being a distraction. "If you want it to be, there is. Not with me."

The scores for America's Next Top Blogger are now as follows: Nadean Talley - 2, Kyle Holley - 1, and Marcellus Sanders - 1. Please keep a look out for this week's topic about your reaction to the earthquake in Haiti. Keep blogging, Warriors.

Law Day #1 - Discrimination

This past week TMA had its first Law Day of the 2009-2010 school year. Approximately 145 ninth graders ventured off to either The Capitol or Hogan & Hartson, a DC Law Firm, to kick off the year. Law Day is a year-long program in which TMA ninth graders join DC lawyers to discuss various facets of the law. Each month, students explore a new topic and combine real-world hypotheticals, group activities, and brief lectures about the finer points of our legal system.

At Hogan & Hartson last Friday, the students participated in activities to gain a better understanding of discrimination and were challenged to think critically about both positive and negative examples in our society. The activity culminated with a student-hosted talk show aimed at getting students to discuss their own views about locker searches, zero-tolerance policies in school, and prioritized public housing.

While half of the ninth grade was at the law firm, the others visited the Capitol to see where our legislative process takes place. Many noted that the highlight was the "whisper spot" in the old house chamber. Due to the acoustics of this room, you can whisper into your hands and (amazingly) be heard all the way across the room!

Students are already excitedly awaiting the next Law Day on November 13^th. Thanks a million to Hogan & Hartson and the DC Capitol Staff for all of their help on Law Day to make the experience such a positive one!

What do students REALLY think about Law Firm Tutoring....???

Law Firm Tutoring is off to a GGGGGRRRRRREAT start! Last week I had the delightful experience of visiting Crowell & Moring during Law Firm Tutoring. During my visit I was able to experience Law Firm Tutoring up-close and personal. I sat down with a few students to learn more, and here is what they had to say:

Superior Court internships completed

This month marks the end of the DC Superior Court Internship, in which TMA students worked one-on-0ne with judges in the DC Superior Court. The students (as always) rocked it. For a glimpse into their thoughts about the experience, check out their classroom blog.

Good afternoon and good luck.

A thumb up for Close Up

Two weeks ago eight TMA students had the privilege of attending a summer program offered by the Close Up Foundation. Close Up brings students from around the country to our nation's Capital for an opportunity to learn about our democracy in an immersive learning environment. Our students spent the entire week with 80 other students from Texas, California, The Marianas Islands, Guam, and Montana. Together they visited the monuments, met with Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill, had nights out on the town, and even passed legislation as a mock congress.

It was a great experience for our students because they got to "rediscover" their home town. You know, sort of like when Mom visits and you take her out to do all the touristy stuff and then realize that you forgot how awesome your city is. Digressions aside, the highlight of the trip occurred on "Capitol Hill Day" when the kids met Sen. Herb Kohl and had breakfast in his office and then were invited to a private meeting with Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. The experience was amazing, but, that's for another post.

Until next time....Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all folks!

superior heart, superior mind, Superior Court.

Oridinarily, clerking for a judge is an opportunity reserved for second-year law students. Thurgood Marshall Academy has never considered what is ordinary when designing our programs.

Starting this week, nine TMA students will intern for judges appointed to various courts in the DC Superior Court system; these courts include but are not limited to family, criminal, civil and probate court. Over the summer, our students will witness, participate in, and examine complex court cases, develop their skills as advocates, and observe judges hearing the most pressing cases of our day.