Top: Boston, Springfield and Worcester Judicial Youth Corps participants.
Bottom: MBA Vice President Denise I. Murphy speaks at the JYC graduation.
High school students and their families, mentors, and court personnel celebrated the Supreme Judicial Court’s Judicial Youth Corps (JYC) program on Thursday, Aug. 15, at JYC Appreciation Day at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston. The JYC program, first established by the SJC in Boston in 1991, gives urban high school students an opportunity to experience the judicial system and learn about the law through educational sessions and hands-on internships in the courts from May through July each year.
The Massachusetts Bar Association has partnered with the SJC since 2007 to run the program in Worcester, and this year the MBA once again brought the program to Springfield in partnership with the SJC and Western New England University School of Law. The Massachusetts Bar Foundation served as the primary sponsor of both the Worcester and Springfield programs, while the Boston program was funded by the City of Boston’s Youth Fund and the Boston Private Industry Council.
During JYC Appreciation Day, the students participated in a mock trial before Judge Jonathan Tynes, of the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court, followed by a graduation ceremony. SJC Justice Kimberly S. Budd served as mistress of ceremonies for the ceremony, which also featured welcoming remarks from MBA Vice President Denise I. Murphy.
“From our work with the Worcester and Springfield programs — and I know it’s the same with … the Boston program — it’s clear that the JYC program continues to inspire both students and court personnel, year after year,” Murphy said. “I don’t think there is a better way to learn about the legal profession than by the immersive experience you get through the Judicial Youth Corps.”
Murphy also thanked the volunteers who worked with the MBA to bring the program to Worcester and Springfield, including James and Luke Rosseel, the father and son team who ran the Worcester Judicial Youth Corps program; Samuel Charron of Western New England University School of Law, who runs the Springfield Judicial Youth Corps program; and MBA Community & Public Services Director Elizabeth O’Neil, who administers the Worcester and Springfield programs with assistance from MBA staff members Patricia Olier and Keith West.
The ceremony also featured remarks from Harvey Weiner, president of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, and Springfield Judicial Youth Corps student participant Michael Scoville. Prompted by their respective educational directors, including James Rosseel from Worcester, Samuel Charron from Springfield, and Gerald Howland from Boston, several other JYC students rose from the audience to speak about their internships and how grateful they were for the experiences and their mentors.
According to the SJC, there have been more than 500 JYC program graduates since the program’s inception. Many have gone on to work in various professions, including working as prosecutors, defense attorneys and attorneys in private legal practice. In 2012, a 1991 JYC graduate was appointed as a District of Columbia Superior Court magistrate judge.