SUPREME
JUDICIAL COURT’S JUDICIAL YOUTH CORPS
RECEIVES FUNDING FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FROM
BOSTON
PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL
Boston--Fifteen Boston public
high school students, who have just completed seven weeks
of court and legal educational training in the Supreme Judicial
Court’s Judicial Youth Corps program, will begin their summer
internships in the Massachusetts court system on Monday,
July 7, 2003. With the support of private donors, the
Boston Private Industry Council will pay for the students’ seven-week
summer internships in which students learn about the role
of the judicial branch and work under the supervision of
clerks, probation officers, and other administrators in Boston
area courts. On Fridays, the students will continue their
educational sessions taught by judges, lawyers, and court
staff, who volunteer their time to help demystify the court
system.
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice
Margaret H. Marshall said, “It is exhilarating to see young
people engaged in learning about the importance of an independent
judiciary in a constitutional democracy. These students have
spent many hours of their free time after school in educational
sessions at the courthouse to learn about legal principles
on which our system of justice is based. I applaud the judges,
lawyers, and court personnel who devote hours of their own
time to this most worthwhile program, and I thank, once again,
the Boston Private Industry Council for supporting the internship
program this year.”
Designed for urban high school students,
the Judicial Youth Corps program was first established by
the Supreme Judicial Court’s Public Information Office in
1991, the year the program won a community partnership award
from the American Bar Association.
The four-month program consists of
two educational components: a seven-week orientation to the
court system held in May and June, and a seven-week courthouse
internship session in July and August. In the first half
of the program, the students gain a fundamental understanding
of legal concepts and the role and function of the trial
and appellate courts through interactive sessions taught
by judges, lawyers, and court staff. During the summer, students
work full-time with clerks and probation officers in court
offices and help with filing, computer processing, answering
public inquiries, and other clerical duties. Each Friday,
the students report to the Supreme Judicial Court to continue
their educational sessions, which often include field trips
to a jail, law firm, police department, and the State House. Court
observations of both criminal and civil proceedings are also
part of their learning experiences.
Neil Sullivan, Executive Director,
Boston Private Industry Council, said, “The Supreme Judicial
Court Judicial Youth Corps offers a unique learning and earning
opportunity for Boston public high school students. This
program is made possible through the commitment of the judges,
clerks, probation officers, and other court employees.”
Approximately 500 students from Boston,
Worcester, and Springfield have successfully completed the
Supreme Judicial Youth Corps Judicial Youth Corps program.
Now in its thirteenth year, the Judicial Youth Corps has
served as a model for several other law-related educational
programs in Massachusetts.
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