BOSTON, MA -- As part of Student Government Day activities in Massachusetts, eleven high school students from seven different schools across the Commonwealth today learned about the state judicial branch and appellate process at the Supreme Judicial Court. The students who participated were elected by their classmates to represent them at the State House and the Supreme Judicial Court at the annual event.
The students began their day participating in activities at the State House, where hundreds of students learned about the state's executive, judicial and legislative branches of government. Appeals Court Justice Mark V. Green addressed the students on behalf of the judiciary. Governor Charles Baker gave opening remarks, and legislative leaders, Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, spoke about their roles in government.
The students then visited the John Adams Courthouse, where Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot Botsford spoke to the students about her role as a judge, and described the role of the appellate courts within the judiciary. The Supreme Judicial Court's two clerks--Maura S. Doyle, Clerk for the County of Suffolk, and Francis V. Kenneally, Clerk for the Commonwealth--educated the students about their roles and the SJC's history and founding. SJC Administrative Attorney Pamela Lyons led students on a tour of the historic courthouse. SJC law clerks also met with the students and talked about the work they do in the court during a pizza lunch.
Established in 1947, Student Government Day is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education to encourage students to learn about the role and function of the three branches of government through observation and active participation.
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#1 - On April 10, 2015, eleven high school students participated in Student Government Day Activities at the Supreme Judicial Court. Here, seven of those students are seated at the Supreme Judicial Court bench in the John Adams Courthouse.
#2 - On April 10, 2015, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot Botsford spoke to eleven high school students and their teachers about the judicial branch, the appellate process, and answered their questions about the difference between the state and federal court systems as part of Student Government Day activities.