HOUSE MEMORIAL 55

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Rick Miera

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL PROGRAM IN NEW MEXICO AND THE HOSTING OF THE 2012 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY THE CENTER FOR CIVIC VALUES, THE STATE BAR OF NEW MEXICO AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO LAW SCHOOL IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, the Gene Franchini high school mock trial is an educational initiative for high schools statewide that teaches students about the law, the legal system and civics; and

     WHEREAS, mock trials are dynamic and rewarding skill- and character-building academic and social experiences for high school students; and

     WHEREAS, mock trials teach high school participants the lifelong skills of critical thinking, responsible decision-making, considering and advocating both sides of an ethical or legal issue, research, teamwork and public speaking; and

     WHEREAS, mock trials provide a focused opportunity for high school students to discover their rights and responsibilities and to consider the merits of being on the correct side of the law; and

     WHEREAS, mock trials provide opportunities for licensed attorneys to give back to the community and to refresh and renew their skills as volunteer mentors to high school students; and

     WHEREAS, for twenty-five years, the center for civic values has coordinated, facilitated, supported and encouraged the high school mock trial programs in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, each year, hundreds of New Mexico high school students and their teacher advisors and attorney coaches spend several weeks researching, studying, preparing and presenting hypothetical courtroom trials that take place in Las Cruces and Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, high school students participating in mock trials may perform the roles of attorneys or witnesses; and

     WHEREAS, volunteer state and federal court judges and licensed attorneys may serve as presiding judges who make evidentiary rulings or scoring judges who score the performance and presentation of each mock trial attorney or witness during mock trials; and

     WHEREAS, each March, the top teams advance to the state finals in Albuquerque, with the winner going on to represent the state at the national championship, held each year in a different United States city; and

     WHEREAS, in May 2012, New Mexico's top team will compete in Albuquerque where the national high school mock trial championship will be hosted by the center for civic values in collaboration with the state bar of New Mexico and the university of New Mexico law school; and

     WHEREAS, the national high school mock trial championship will draw about six hundred students competing in the championship from other states, South Korea, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Australia and Ireland;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it recognize and wish luck to the New Mexico mock trial teams that will compete in the state mock trial finals and the top New Mexico team that will compete in the 2012 national high school mock trial championship; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a welcome be extended to out-of-town participants in the 2012 national high school mock trial championship; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the house of representatives recognize the twenty-five years of outstanding work by the center for civic values; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the house of representatives recognize the collaboration of the state bar of New Mexico and the university of New Mexico law school in hosting the 2012 national high school mock trial championship; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the center for civic values, the state bar of New Mexico, the university of New Mexico law school and the secretary of public education.

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