Centereach, N.Y. (December 2019)—Middle Country Central School District’s Centereach High School recently competed in the Long Island Mentor Moot Court competition, a constitutional law competition that stimulates the mind and provides experience for aspiring law and litigation students. Led by Ms. Reilley and Ms. Strong, Centereach High School brought a team of seven to the competition. Student participants included David Stein, senior; Gianna Gurovich, senior; Joshua Hunsucker, senior; Thomas Gambra, senior; Madison Murray, junior; Olivia Nobs, junior; and Payton Lancer, sophomore.
“This experience has been one of a kind for these driven and intelligent students,” said Dr. Roberta A. Gerold, superintendent of Middle Country School District. “The District strives to provide students with these real-life and career-building experiences to help open doors and provide insight into future career paths. It helps to instill in them the skill, passion, and motivation necessary to thrive in the working world. All students who participated should be proud of all that they accomplished.”
MCCSD’s participating students spent weeks preparing with a real attorney to present a constitutional case to a panel of federal judges. Beforehand, students had the opportunity to practice their litigation skills in an educational setting that represents constitutional law in an accurate light. During the competition, participants assumed the role of lawyers to stand before the U.S. Supreme Court on a constitutional question. The Long Island Mentor Moot Court was developed in 2016 as part of the Second Circuit’s Civic Education Initiative, “Justice for All: Courts and the Community.” This new addition to the civics education program for Long Island high schools was born from a partnership between the Nassau County Bar Association, Hofstra University Law School, the Federal Bar Association, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Justice Resource Center.
