Acting Bronx Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Taylor founded the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Program in 1997, to provide middle school students with a positive introduction to the judicial system and expose them to role models and careers in the law. Participating students learn about a criminal trial and serve as prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, witnesses, or jurors. During the competitions, actual judges preside over the mock trials, and court officers and stenographers staff the courtrooms. Students in grades 7 and 8 will be competing with 35 other public and private schools from New York City and Westchester County.
