STREET LAW ADVOCACY CAMP

Street Law hosted its annual Advocacy Camp at the law school on Saturday, March 30. The theme was Advocacy and the 4th Amendment and the law school was proud to welcome 25 students from Central High School, Soulsville Charter School, Cordova High School, and Memphis Rise Academy. Law students from all three classes volunteered to participate by speaking, providing transportation, and overseeing the event and Street Law president Allie Lynn did a terrific job coordinating the entire day of activities.

The day began with an Academic Workshop taught by members of the Memphis Law Moot Court Board. The workshop began with a discussion on basic argumentation using syllogism. Next, the students heard an Opening Statement Demo and discussed how syllogism translates into an opening statement. The session ended with the students creating and sharing their own arguments on the issue of "whether a hotdog is a sandwich." Board Members leading the workshop were Alan Matthews, Tanisha Johnson, Zane Heller, and Eliza Jones.

The next session involved a panel of local attorneys speaking on the individual rights that are associated with the 4th Amendment. The discussion included police misconduct/brutality, process for filing complaints against the police, and everyday hypotheticals that students may one day find themselves in such as school searches, traffic stops and searches, and Terry type stops. This panel included Alex Park from Lewis Thomason, Janika White from The Walter Bailey Law Firm, Kamilah Turner from Turner Law Firm, and moderated by Quinton Thompson from Morgan & Morgan.

The day ended with a discussion on the law enforcement perspective of the 4th Amendment. This law enforcement panel included Assistant City Attorney Darius Walker, Officer Joy Knowlton, and Officer Nicholas Rudd. They discussed the realities of being a Memphis police officer, biggest issues concerning juveniles and advocacy, and past cases involving Memphis Police.