Today Ray and I went with Liz and her boyfriend, Ron, to Southwestern Law School near downtown where we played the role of two characters in a mock trial that they were participating in. This was the culmination of their class, and Liz and Ron were the defense team for a man played by Ray who was accused of paying an arsonist to burn down his failing aluminum manufacturing plant. I played the expert witness – an arson investigator – who was a witness for the defense since I believed that the accusation of arson was ill-founded and could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On the prosecution side, a team of three members proceeded to present their case that Ray’s character was indeed a desperate man in need of the insurance money he would receive from a timely fire, and that I was a less experienced arson investigator than their expert witness, who was also the fire chief.
The trial was presided over by a local attorney who had volunteered his time to act as the judge and also to provide helpful feedback to the five law students who were involved. The event took place in one of the rooms at Southwestern, which is set up as a courtroom, complete with a raised judge’s platform, a witness stand, a jury box and tables for the defense and the prosecution.
I must say that all five students did a very good job presenting their sides of the case. I am biased, of course, and thought that Liz and Ron were more well-prepared and smoother in their presentation than their opponents; however, my thoughts were borne out by the “judge” since they received overall better feedback than their peers. It was fun to see these students (daughter and boyfriend included) acting in their future roles as lawyers after the relatively short two-year program they’ve been attending. It was edifying to see the growth in their confidence since “Parents’ Day” back in 2011 when they all stood nervously anticipating what this law school experience was going to be all about. The transformation was remarkable from those “kids” to these “polished professionals.”
Ray and I spoke to the teacher of the class after the “trial.” He said he works for the Public Defenders’ Office and that the work these five law students did was as good as lawyers in many courtrooms in the city. “I was very impressed,” he said.
I was impressed, too.
This was the last official school event for Liz and Ron besides their Bar exam preparation. As we were walking back to the car, we saw another car with the entire backseat filled with clothes. Ron said, “That’s Christy’s car. She is heading back to South Carolina this afternoon, driving all that way by herself.”
The end of an experience. Wow.
Tomorrow Liz and Ron are due back at Southwestern to continue their Bar prep, which started a couple of weeks ago. No rest for the weary. I suppose, though I do think they made it out to Malibu this afternoon for a few hours of celebration.
Good work, kids. I’ll be your expert witness any day!
Comments