Rising Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School and Goochland High School Junior Morgan Butler was able to attend an exciting "Law and CSI" camp this summer, with the help of BRVGS. The camp, sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Forum (see https://www.envisionexperience.com/explore-our-programs/national-youth-leadership-forum-law-and-csi), allowed participants to delve deeply into the role of modern forensics in the legal process.
In her experience in the camp, Morgan reports that she "...was able to partake as the respondent in a mock Supreme Court trial," and additionally, she "...defended a person and was able to push outside of my comfort zone and be the direct, asking our expert witness questions (and we won, which was very cool!)." She adds, "I have learned a lot and even sparked an interest in mock trial in college. During preparing for these mock cases, I was able to collaborate with students from all over the country. I have truly connected with these people and learned a lot from other motivated students."
Participants also heard directly from trial attorneys and from a former convict exonerated by DNA evidence. Morgan notes, "I had already had a strong interest and understanding of the Innocence Project before attending this camp but this truly helped me to understand from this perspective how important the Innocence Project is!"
BRVGS students who are interested in pursuing future opportunities such as the NYLF CSI Law Camp should contact BRVGS Director Marc Carraway.