LINCROFT – Saint Leo the Great School eighth-graders held a mock trial presentation May 15 for students in grades 5-8.
This year’s session was moderated by Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw Jr. Warshaw, the former Monmouth County prosecutor, was nominated to the bench by Gov. Christie and confirmed by the state Senate in July 2012.
The eighth-grade students presented two mock trial cases. The first case was about texting while driving and the second case was about bullying. The students presented their cases in front of the audience with students in the audience acting as jurors. Jurors were given a sheet to fill in to determine the verdict in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant.
The mock trial program, which is open to eighth-graders, began in October and then met two days a week through May.
Prior to acceptance to the program, each student is required to submit a case of about 200 words, based on the criteria from the New Jersey Law Center.
The students with top-scoring entries were selected to participate in the mock trial program.
The program is supervised by JeanMarie Tommolino, a teacher at Saint Leo’s. She was assisted by Maureen Warshaw, a Saint Leo parent who is an attorney.
“This is a great opportunity for the children to acquire and reinforce writing skills, public speaking as well as critical and analytical thinking,” Maureen Warshaw said.
