Legalby William Elliott

I riffled through the murder trial case file, looking for the witness’s affidavit. Checking over the highlighted sections and reviewing my questions one more time, I peered over the pages and studied the faces of the jury. A member of the prosecution stood and said, “We pass the witness.” Now it was time for the defense attorney to question the witness. I stood from the table, addressed the professor acting as the judge, and walked across the courtroom floor to the witness stand.

I have been interested in law for several years. In an eighth grade history class, we traced the development of Western law from the Roman Empire to the birth of America, learning along the way about the great minds who shaped legal and political theories we still apply today. The course culminated in a formal class debate, and I got my first taste of researching, writing, and arguing. The thrill was addictive.

Court & ChambersAt a homeschool co-op the following year, I heard the Honorable Scott J. Becker, a local district judge, speak about the roles of a judge. At

the end of his talk, he mentioned that he might consider accepting high

school interns. It sounded like a

fascinating opportunity. As soon as I met the age requirement of 16, I sent in an application, had an interview, and was accepted as the judge’s first teenage intern.

During the four-week internship, I watched dozens of cases, hearings, and other legal proceedings. In addition, every few days the judge would give me and his two law school interns a research assignment that typically involved searching through legal opinions, especially precedents that other judges had set,

to find information on legal rules or conventions. Other than these research assignments and occasionally

being a “go-fer,” my duty was simply to observe the proceedings. I noticed the differences among vari-ous types of legal work in cases involving robbery, murder, divorce, parental rights, and corporate conflicts. For instance, corporate law was more research-intensive for the attorneys, as opposed to, say, the murder trial I watched, which relied heavily on testimony and crime scene evidence.

One of the most valuable aspects of the internship was the behind-the-scenes look at the work of attorneys and judges. After each

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case was decided, the judge would summon the interns back to discuss the case, asking our opinions and explaining the reasoning behind certain decisions. He would also sometimes point out certain methods or arguments used by attorneys and how they were or were not helpful to the case. In addition, we got to see the discussions in the judge’s chambers between the attorneys and Judge Becker. It was interesting to see the judge proceed through documents and agreements, mediating the conflicting interests of the two opposing counsel. The judge also explained the key elements of being a good judge, which include setting aside one’s personal opinions and objectively analyzing the facts of the case as the law instructs.

A Jury of PeersEnergized by this experience, after the internship ended I attended a training and application session for a local Teen Court program. I had observed Teen Court on a field trip with fellow homeschoolers when I was in eighth grade and was intrigued by it. Through this program, high school students serve as jurors or attorneys representing juvenile offenders who have already pleaded guilty and are to be assigned community service as punishment for their offenses.

During the training session, a lawyer discussed how to be an attorney in Teen Court cases, explaining, for instance, how to raise objections and how to cross-examine a witness. Next, we ran through a practice trial involving a teen who was found in possession of drug paraphernalia. We were given a small case brief before taking part in an impromptu trial. Following the training, those who were accepted could sign up to be attorneys throughout the school year.

Although the cases in Teen Court are much simpler than the ones I observed during my internship, Teen Court gives me the opportunity to play an active role in court proceedings. When I arrive at court for a session, I am randomly assigned cases and the role of either prosecution or defense. I spend about 20 minutes examining the evidence provided, interviewing the defendant when necessary, and choosing a strategy. The trial then mimics real court proceedings on a smaller scale.

The fact that the outcomes of these cases have a real bear-ing on how much the defendant is punished, and possibly on how well he is rehabilitated and deterred from committing the crime again, gives a sense of importance to the proceedings and motivates me to argue for my client to the best of my ability.

Law Student in TrainingNow that I had gotten a glimpse of the roles of judges, jurors, and attorneys, I sought to learn more about the law itself and get a taste of what law school would be like. Last summer, I took a course called Criminal Trial Advocacy (CTA) through Duke University TIP.

In class, we delved into a wide range of court cases and dis-cussed black-letter law (well-established technical legal rules). Our

instructor, Don Donelson, J.D., employed the Socratic Method to help us fully understand legal concepts. For example, he would pick up a piece of chalk and write the word “battery” on the board. He would turn to us and ask, “What is battery?” Each of us in turn would give an answer, and he would ask questions that helped us see why each answer would not work. We would get closer and closer to the answer, learning along the way how certain word choices affected the meaning of not just the legal concept we were currently discussing, but also others we had yet to learn. Finally, one of us would say something along the lines of, “When ... someone makes contact with another in a way that a reasonable person ... might be harmed ... or the contact is highly offensive?” Professor Donelson would then explain the exact definition of the concept for future reference in mock trials or other activities.

In addition to exploring important legal concepts, we learned a lot about litigation techniques. We watched videos of skilled lawyers and then discussed how they struck a balance between rhetoric and fact as they presented information to the jury.

At the end of the program, we put all that we’d learned into practice in a mock trial. The professor gave us a case brief with several pieces of evidence and affidavits from witnesses. It was a murder trial, and our work involved sorting through evidence and determining motivations and trustworthiness in conflicting witness reports. I was excited to be a litigator for the defense. In groups, we went through the documents, formulated our strategy and arguments, and each worked on our roles either as an attorney or as a witness. We prepared formally for our final trial, and the TIP Criminal Minds class sat in as the jury, ultimately finding the defendant not guilty.

This summer program, my Teen Court experience, and my internship all let me get close to the American legal machine,

to pick it apart and see how all the different components worked together. Most important, these opportunities helped me see that one day I hope to contribute my own ideas and work in the legal system. At this point, corporate law is most appealing to me because I found that I prefer researching and interpreting the law over explaining evidence in a trial. Although I am unsure of exactly what my future holds, I am sure that the study of law will continue to prove challenging and rewarding.

William Elliott has been homeschooled his entire life and is now a high school junior. He lives in Parker, TX. When he is not doing schoolwork or hanging out with friends, he also writes, plays piano, runs on varsity cross country and track teams, researches econometrics theory and simulation, and leads a club that he founded for dual-credit

students at his local college. After high school, William plans to major in economics and math before moving on to law school.

This summer program, my Teen Court experience, and my internship all let me get close to the American legal machine, to pick it apart and see how all the different components worked together.

William with the Honorable Scott J. Becker

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