Aspiring legal professionals get experience with Gwinnett prosecutors

It was the climax of the murder-for-hire trial.

The prosecutors said a business rivalry pushed a local pizzeria owner to seek revenge on a fellow restaurateur. The defense said there was no proof, just hearsay from witnesses who should themselves be investigated.

The two sides rested their cases, and the judge called for a break. Then several dozen teenagers at once broke the decorum they maintained over the past two hours spent in a Gwinnett County courtroom. They turned to one another excitedly, recapping highlights from the mock trial, breaking down the cross-examination and speculating about the jury’s decision.

The teenagers were part of the Junior District Attorney and Investigator Mentorship Program, learning the basics of law and order and getting an early introduction to the profession. Tuesday’s mock trials were the culmination of the two-week summer program.

The program started in 2022 with just a dozen participants and doubles as an educational opportunity and a potential recruiting tool. This year, there were about four dozen participants.

Like many government sectors, there are concerns about workforce shortages in the legal profession.

“Across our state, there are deficits in the numbers of court reporters, prosecutors and public defenders , court staff and even sheriff’s deputies,” Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs said in his February State of the Judiciary address. “Just as it is critical to have enough doctors, nurses and teachers to adequately deliver health care and education services to our citizens, so too must Georgia have enough law enforcement and public safety officers, lawyers and court staff professionals to effectively and efficiently keep the wheels of justice turning.”

One challenge for the legal profession is a gender gap. Since 2016, women have outpaced men in law school enrollments and currently make up 56% of all law school students, but women account for only 39% of all practicing lawyers, according to a recent study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. There’s also a gender gap in pay, the study found.

South Gwinnett High School student Kaitlyn Lambert gave the defense’s opening statement, saying the prosecution was single-minded, more concerned with a conviction than the truth.

Lambert, part of the school’s law academy, plans to be a lawyer or a paralegal.

“I want to get justice for people who have been wronged and bring justice to wrongdoers,” she said.

The prosecutor, Irene Kim, a student at Marist School, said she was drawn to the state’s side because she feels in high-profile cases, viewers and media input can skew to the accused, losing sight of victims.

Kim said her pursuit of law makes her feel like an outlier among her peers because most are drawn to STEM fields. Money seems to be a factor, she said, but also some seem daunted by the interpersonal side of being a lawyer. That doesn’t faze Kim: She wants to one day be on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

The participants received commendation for clever questions and a couple of well-placed objections. But they couldn’t hide some of their furrowed eyebrows or dropped jaws when incredulous of opposing counsel’s arguments or witness statements.

Neither could District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. She was having a blast seeing the students play their characters and get into the case with just a couple of days of preparation.

“It just shows what a bountiful crop of young people we have here in Gwinnett County,” she said. “I’m gonna keep their numbers,” noting that some summer interns were once summer program attendees.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

There wasn’t much evidence of big-picture concerns as the teen attorneys worked their way through the case. Defense attorneys reassured their client and high-fived during breaks. Later, they had more to celebrate.

The jury, made up of other students in the program, deliberated for just a few minutes because they had to get to lunch.

Their verdict: Not guilty.

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