CAMDEN — Girl Scouts and law students may have a lot more
in common than one might think. As any lawyer can attest, the Girl Scout motto
“Be Prepared” always comes in handy in the courtroom, too.

A group of Girl Scouts confer with Rutgers-Camden law students in deciding their ruling during a moot court competition.

A group of about 30 young women from the Girl Scouts of
Central and Southern New Jersey recently found out just how prepared attorneys
and judges must be for a trial. During a visit to the Rutgers School of
Law–Camden, the scouts from Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties toured
Rutgers–Camden’s moot courtroom, sat in on a mock appellate trial, and even
served as mock jurists and judges while listening to arguments from members of
Rutgers–Camden’s Hunter Moot Court program.

“This was the first time I got to see something like this,
so it was very interesting to learn about how each side argues its case,” said
Christina Glinos, 14, of Deptford.

The Rutgers–Camden law students spent time talking to the
scouts about the appeals process and demonstrated an appellate argument based
on a simulated case they are using this year. Four second-year law students
argued the case as part of a competition that tests their written and oral
advocacy abilities.

The law studen

Mikaela Wright, 11, presides over an appellate court hearing.

ts argued in front of a panel of justices,
made up of third-year law students and Girl Scouts who volunteered to don
judges’ robes, sit on the bench, and ask questions of the attorneys.

“The idea of this appellate program is to show the young
women a slice of law school life while also letting them see the inside of a
courtroom,” says Ruth Anne Robbins, a clinical professor of law and director of
lawyering programs at Rutgers–Camden. Robbins teaches in the program and wrote
the fictional case on which this year’s competition is based.

The fictional case involved a New Jersey resident who
previously had been convicted of making terroristic threats to a neighbor. The
fictional defendant allegedly made the threats by posting messages on his
Facebook page and touching a confederate flag tattoo on his arm to convey a threatening
message during the trial.

The law students representing the defendant argued during
the appellate simulation that their client was deprived of his right to a fair
and impartial trial and should have never been tried in the first place.

The Girl Scouts serving as judges enthusiastically ruled
in favor of the defendant.

“I thought it was interesting that both sides could make
such good arguments for and against something that might not seem that
important,” said Julia Pierattini, 15, of Deptford.

Mikaela Wright, 11, of Burlington Township, added, “I liked
going up there with the judges and asking questi

The Girl Scouts donned judges' robes and asked questions of the student attorneys.

ons.”

After the mock trial, the Girl Scouts got to ask questions
of Rutgers–Camden’s Women’s Law Caucus, which promotes women’s issues that
strengthen and advance the student body at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden.

“A program like this is a great chance to be exposed to
the different areas of the law and also different career paths for young
women,” said Samantha Gross, a second-year law student from Cherry Hill and
president of the Women’s law Caucus. “It’s vital that they see other women take
on professional and leadership roles.”

Lori Glover, a third-year law student from Trenton, said,
“This is a great program for the girl scouts because it teaches them poise and
gives them confidence. It’s a great opportunity for them to develop those
traits.”

Glover was one of the law students and Hunter Moot Court
board member sitting on the justices’ bench during the simulation.

Lauren Cranmer, a leadership experience specialist for the
Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey, said the event helped the
scouts see how decisions are made based on laws that govern society.

“I am hoping this will open the girls’ eyes to a whole new
subject and spark their interest in different career paths,” Cranmer said.