Mock Trial Competition Includes Two Johns Creek Schools

“Project Legal Lives,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr.’s innovative educational program will introduce the criminal justice system at two Johns Creek schools.

Shakerag and State Bridge Crossing are just two of the 10 participating elementary schools throughout the city of Atlanta and Fulton County.

“Legal Lives”, which was created in 1990 by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office in New York City, is a 10-week course that teaches children about the law, the legal system and the fundamental principles and values upon which this system is based. It seeks to instill in students a basic respect for the law through the development of critical and analytical skills.

“Legal Lives” also provides role models for students by placing assistant district attorneys in the classroom to teach the course, one of the most appealing aspects of the program for many educators.

The program will culminate in a dramatic mock-trial competition Wednesday, May 8, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Fulton County Courthouse. Students assume the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendants, witnesses, victims, and jurors in the competition that simulates the trial of an armed-robbery case. District Attorney staff-members judge the competition and award trophies for the best overall performance and a variety of other achievements. The competition will run until approximately noon.