Seventeen Boston public high school students spent the spring and summer learning about the role of the judiciary and the rule of law in the 15th Annual Judicial Youth Corps program. Sponsored by the Supreme Judicial Court, the program also gives students an inside view of how the court system works to help people resolve disputes.
Working alongside judges, attorneys and court staff who volunteer to teach and mentor students or supervise them in their summer internships, the high school students gain an understanding of the judicial system.
The students go through interactive educational sessions in May and June, then have paid internships in courts throughout Boston in July and August. Field trips to the Nashua Street Jail and Boston Police Department are also part of their learning experience.
This summer, students worked in offices at the Supreme Judicial Court, Boston Municipal Court -- including the divisions of Dorchester, Roxbury and West Roxbury -- Boston Housing Court, Suffolk Probate and Family Court, and Suffolk Superior Court. The internships were paid through funds from the Boston Private Industry Council.
The program is administered by the SJC's Public Information Office with the assistance of attorney Gerald Howland, director of Another Course to College. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Roderick L. Ireland is an active participant and advisor to the program.