Students from the mock trial team at Massapequa High School recently learned first-hand about the United States judicial system during a program. Federal Court Judge Joseph F. Bianco hosted a weeklong summer seminar at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
The seminar included lectures and demonstrations of all facets of the criminal justice system, including an extensive focus on courtroom procedures. There was a keynote address by Mary Beth Tinker, a famous civil rights activist who was the petitioner in the landmark Supreme Court decision, Tinker v. Des Moines School District, which defined students’ rights in public schools.
Massapequa students taking part in the program were Julianna Amato, Rachelle Casement, Sarah Gowen, Natasha Saar and Danielle Schwartz. They were assigned a mentor from a law school to prepare them for a mock trial competition at the end of the seminar. The mentor was Massapequa alumna Maria Benvenuto, who was the lead attorney on the 2011 Mock Trial team and is currently at Boston College Law School.
The Massapequa students won both cases they argued on the last day of the seminar. These incoming sophomores will take the skills they learned this summer to the International Empire State Mock Trial Competition in November.
