CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The trial of the year took place Tuesday morning at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos' court.
Students from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi played the roles of the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks.
Students from Incarnate Word Academy, Flour Bluff Elementary, and East Cliff Elementary served as judges, lawyers, jurors, bailiffs, and other roles.
The Gowan Elizando Law Firm and members of the American Board of Trial Advocates created the idea and said they hoped to teach students about the judicial system. The mock trial gives the students a hands-on experience but with a unique twist.
"So the first time I ever saw this program was in law school. We put it on for a group in Lubbock when I was going to Texas Tech, and I enjoyed it a lot. And then, I got into an organization called the American Board of Trial Advocates, and they have a civil education program for the kids, and so I asked to introduce it to them. We tried it last year and this year, and now they want to try to take it to a bunch of other chapters. It's wonderful to get the schools involved in this kind of education," Gregory Gowan, attorney at Gowan Elizando Law Firm, said.
Mock Trials take students to the heart of the justice system and give them a chance to acquire critical-thinking skills and an in-depth understanding of our judicial process.
Students also learn the importance of constitutional rights. That way, they have a true understanding of their civil liberties.
