NCJ Number
75066
Journal
Journal of Legal Education Volume: 29 Issue: 4 Dated: (1978) Pages: 568-576
Date Published
1978
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article discusses 'Street Law' classes in Washington, D.C., high schools and in correctional institutions.
Abstract
Law students serve as teachers several days a week, attend weekly 2-hour seminars on practical law and teaching strategies, and receive 6 academic credits for their efforts. The course's primary emphasis is on the teaching of practical law as it affects the students in their daily lives; other goals include the development of positive attitudes towards the law, improved reasoning skills, a knowledge of ethical values, and an awareness of vocational opportunities within the legal system. The classes feature extensive classroom role-playing, court observations, community legal projects, and a city-wide mock trial competition in which the students participate as attorneys and witnesses before local and Federal court judges. Furthermore, a textbook has been developed which includes charts, replications of legal documents, constitutional amendments, and a glossary of legal terms. The student teachers benefit through indepth training in the substantive local laws, the use of oral advocacy and communication skills, and the preparation of researched legal memorandums. The program, initiated in 1972, expanded to include all of the city's high schools and six area juvenile and adult correctional institutions, as well as a community half-way house. In addititon, the National Street Law Institute has been established to provide technical assistance to those who would like to replicate the program. Law-school based models have been established in 12 other cities, and teachers and attorneys are operating similar programs in 43 States. Footnotes are included.