SENATE MEMORIAL 29

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE CENTER FOR CIVIC VALUES GENE FRANCHINI HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL PROGRAM IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, the center for civic values is a New Mexico nonprofit corporation organized in 1962 by the New Mexico state bar foundation to provide education and resources for public participation in the law; and

     WHEREAS, for more than forty years, the center for civic values has coordinated, facilitated, supported and encouraged a high school mock trial program, an educational initiative for high schools statewide that teaches students about the law, the legal system and civics, now known as the Gene Franchini high school mock trial program; and

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

     WHEREAS, high school students participating in mock trials report increased skills in critical thinking, responsible decision making, research, teamwork and public speaking; and

     WHEREAS, participating students also report having better grades and an improved ability to manage their time; and

     WHEREAS, licensed attorneys donate their time to students by coaching teams and mentoring the high school students; 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; and

     WHEREAS, high school students participating in mock trials advocate in the mock cases as attorneys, witnesses and courtroom artists; and

     WHEREAS, state and federal court judges and licensed attorneys volunteer to judge the mock trial competitions, serving as presiding judges who make evidentiary rulings and score the performance and presentation of the students competing; 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, the center for civic values hosted the national high school mock trial championship, drawing about six hundred students competing in the championship from other states, South Korea, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Australia and Ireland; and

     WHEREAS, the high school mock trial teams from New Mexico have competed successfully in the national championships, with a team from Albuquerque academy winning the national championship in 2012 and 2013; and

     WHEREAS, this program is beloved by thousands of former high school students who have participated in it, thousands of parents who have seen the benefits of the program to their children and hundreds of teachers, lawyers and judges who volunteer their time and expertise to work with the student teams; and

     WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico school of law recognizes that, by hosting this program in the law school, it offers an opportunity for law students to mentor high school students, thereby building the law students' skills and reinforcing a culture of giving back to local communities;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it recognize the more than forty years of outstanding work by the center for civic values to implement the Gene Franchini high school mock trial program and that it support the continuance of this cherished program; 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 school of law and the secretary of public education.

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