GEORGIA’S CHIEF JUSTICE TO PRESENT DA’s AWARD

Local Students Honored for Oral Argument Performance

Atlanta- Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the winners of the DA’s first annual Middle School Oral Argument competition. The awards will be presented by Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein of the Supreme Court of Georgia during a special ceremony Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 10 a.m. The event will be held at the Fulton County Government Center, Assembly Hall, located at 141 Pryor Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

The Oral Argument competition is an off-shoot of District Attorney Howard’s innovative Teen Court program for middle school students in the Atlanta Public School System. Started in 2008 at Kennedy Middle School, Teen Court is an intervention program designed to serve as an alternative to school suspensions. The program is aimed at students who commit offenses within the school such as fighting, bullying and classroom disruptions. The “defendants” have their cases heard in specially designed student courtrooms and receive sanctions like apology letters, essays and community service from a jury of their peers. Students are also trained to serve as lawyers, clerks, bailiffs and jurors in the teen court ‘justice system’.

On March 24, 2010, students from Best Academy, Kennedy Middle School (both participating Teen Court schools) and Parks Middle School squared-off in an Oral Argument competition over the topic of ‘Compulsory Attendance’. The contest was judged by a five-person panel of legal experts led by Chief Justice Hunstein. The winners will be announced for the first time during Thursday’s ceremony. Teen Court volunteers including college students and legal professionals will also be honored during the event.

For further questions, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at 404-612-0560.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov