Real court cases, hands-on experience in the courthouse, and partnership with like minded peers– the teen court internship offers a one-of-a-kind program for students looking to pursue a career in law. 

“When I went, I saw a completely different atmosphere because we were actually at a courthouse with actual judges and we had a jury and proper cases,” Mohammad Ammar Salman (12) said, “I think it gives me a really good opportunity to understand, if I became a lawyer, how my life would kind of be.”

The program lets high school students to be jury members or attorneys on real cases through applying to the internship program. 

“The application process was pretty simple,” Salman said, “I just had to go on the website and choose if I was signing up for a jury or as an attorney then I just had to fill out a form with some of my information and email it to someone specific.” 

The internship has several different positions for the interns from jury members to prosecution and defense attorneys offering a variety of courtroom situations and perspectives.

“I’m actually a lead attorney this year because it’s my second year doing this, so I work with the defense side of things and help mentor people that are coming into the program,” Hannah Mobley (12) said. 

On top of the experience gained from this program, teen attorneys get the opportunity to meet and work with peers in the community also passionate about law. 

“I’ve definitely gained a better understanding of how the court system works and more public speaking experience,” Kelsey West (12) said, “I’ve also gotten to meet new people not only outside of the stuff I’ve been doing but Wylie High School too. I’ve gotten to meet kids from Plano, Wylie East, and Sachse.” 

The teen court program provides knowledge and experience to those looking to go into the law field.