My favorite experience as a freshman was going to Federal Court and having a mock trial. And this is just the start!
Hello, everyone! My name is Taline Ratanjee and I am currently a junior at JSerra. JSerra has allowed me to participate in a myriad of clubs and organizations such as Link Crew, National Honors Society, California Scholarship Federation, Associated Student Body, and more. I also play water polo and swim for JSerra. Jserra has helped me develop into a leader through these clubs, but also through the Law Magnet Program.
The Law Magnet Program introduces students to the field of law through academic and clinical practice. Every year the law students take two different classes per year about the legal field and are able to apply what they learned during the mock trial competition in the winter.
Starting off with freshmen year, the students will take Professional Leadership and Introduction to Law Honors. Professional Leadership is a class in which teaches the fundamentals of business, leadership, and service. In Introduction to Law Honors your student will learn about the basics elements of a jury trial, such as how to write an opening statement, direct examination questions, and much more! When asking current juniors about their favorite part of freshmen year, many answered with “playing an evidence game” or “touring the court house and watching different trials.” Personally, my favorite experience as a freshman was going to Federal Court and having a mock trial. And this is just the start!
Below is a picture of my grade at the federal court in 2014.
During sophomore year, your student will take Speech and Debate and Legal Research and Writing. Speech and Debate allows for your student to grow in their speaking skills and how to debate on their toes. Legal Research and Writing, being one of my favorite classes, your student will learn how to read cases and search for case law that apply to their certain case. Also, your student will write memorandums, settlement letters, and legal documents. Sophomore year is also the first year, in which your student is allowed to be an attorney in mock trial! The core of the Law Magnet Program and the best part! During mock trial, being a parent, you will be able to watch your student go up in front of a judge and another team presenting evidence and debating, as if you were in a real trial. My favorite memory of sophomore year was being able to grow and learn with my classmates at mock trial. I applied everything I learned from my past classes to help my team achieve in the competition.
Junior year, your student will take Trial Advocacy and Criminal Law. And did I mention that all of these classes are honors! In Trail Advocacy, your student will learn to examine key elements of pretrial motions, jury selection, direct and cross-examinations of witness, and closing argument. Later that year, the Criminal Law class will allow for students to learn about the basic components of criminal law, such as attempted crimes, mistakes, burdens of proof, and the elements of these crimes. Currently, in my Trial Advocacy class each student has been assigned to a specific trial. My case is about bribery and how police officers misused their authority for their own personal gain. With all of our cases, we have written opening statements and have had jury selections. We are also working on mock trial, which is coming up in a few weeks.
During senior year, your student will take Contract Law Honors and Constitutional Law Honors. In Contract Law, seniors learn about the fundamentals of contract formation and performance. When I asked many of the seniors of what they enjoy in this class, some replied with “the negotiations we do can be very interesting because you really do not know what evidence your opponent has and need to think on your feet.” The last class your student would take would be Constitutional Law Honors, in which your student would learn about the basics of constitutional law, including freedom of speech, the taking, property and due process and equal rights for the sexes. I cannot wait to take these classes next year!
When reading this your probably wondering who teaches these classes and is behind the scenes of the growth of the students. And that is Mr. Ahle! Mr. Ahle was a former prosecutor in Orange County and is now the Program Director for the Law Magnet Program! Mr. Ahle loves to teach his students and influence the younger generations about how law is crucial to our government and society. He teaches and organizes all of these classes and is truly dedicated to this program. Just last year, JSerra started a new tradition in which the Law Magnet Program hosts a mock trial competition for over 24 different teams. In the competition, volunteer judges and lawyers are judging students and scoring them on their parts in the trial.