Kayden Forbes (foreground) played the role of proscuting attorney and Avory Ostdiek (standing) was the defense attorney. Both are Lawrence-Nelson eighth grade students. They are presenting their closing arguments at the end of the case.
Monday morning, Lawrence-Nelson eighth grade students conducted a mock trial at the Nuckolls County Courthouse under the direction of two seniors, Cassidy Huston and Madalyn Kennedy, as part of their Career Quest program. Taking pictures are Huston (standing left) and Kennedy (front row jury). Joel Hoelting serves as judge. The defense attorney (standing before the judge) was Avory Ostdiek. The prosecuting attorney was Kayden Forbes. The bailiff was Adriyanna Mazour. Others pictured are eighth grade students who volunteered as jurors and witnesses to the case.
Cassidy Huston and Madalyn Kennedy, Lawrence-Nelson, high school seniors, mentored the eighth grade students Monday the twenty fifth through a Career Quest program. The two planned and conducted a mock trial in the Nuckolls County Courtroom involving the 8th grade students. It was based on "The Outsiders," a movie from the 1983.
Jessica Stokes, Career Quest instructor, oversaw the project. As part of the Career Quest program juniors and seniors job shadow area businesses. Both Huston and Kennedy job shadowed at Lieske Law Firm in Hastings. Students in the Career Quest program are required to job shadow 12 to 15 hours per semester.
The two orchestrated the mock trial, with each eighth grade student stepping into each particular role in the court process: Joel Holting - judge, Adriyanna Mazour - bailiff, Avory Ostdiek - defense attorney, Kayden Forbis - prosecuting attorney. The remaining eighth grade students were witnesses or jurors.
The "Outsiders" was released in 1983. Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio(Karate Kid), Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane. Located in rural Oklahoma, some young teenagers created two rival gangs. A boy was caught talking to a rival member's girlfriend, causing friction between the two groups. One fateful night, the two groups collided with a terrible outcome. The boy that had talked to the girlfriend of the rival gang, was spotted walking through a park with his friend. Both were attacked by the opposing gang. The friend was badly beaten and left on the ground. Then the gang went after the boy that they were really mad at. Several gang members beat him up. Seeing a pond nearby, taking him and holding him underneath the water attempting to drown him. The friend that had just been beaten up saw this, pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed several of the attackers, saving his friend's life. One of the perpetrators died. After this incident, the two friends were scared and fled the scene. They hid from police, were later found, and one of the boys was charged with murder. A court process ensued finding the friend innocent of all charges.
The mock trial modeled the legal processes of the court, focusing on an individual's rights of self defense and the protection of others.
Wednesday, Dec. 11, the junior and senior high school students will gather to make presentations about their involvement in the Career Quest program. Each person will be given 15 minutes to explain why they chose the particular business, the mentoring program that they created for the 8th graders, and what they've learned through this unique process.
Through the Career Quest program, high school students discover and prepare for expanded education and employment opportunities. Building confidence, developing personal and business skills, learning how to network, developing entrepreneurship skills and other personnel skills thought to be beneficial to the successful integration of our young people into healthy adult lives.
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