Many Houston High School students involved in the 2014 version of the annual Constitution Project geared up for the upcoming regional competition by dealing with a mock death-by-gunshot scene Wednesday at the Houston City Hall.
This year’s project includes teams from 12 schools that will square off this month in three four-team regional events, with finalists meeting in a four-team championship at Jefferson City in November.
Wednesday’s practice effort featured members of HHS police and journalism squads. Students acting as police officers – who have been mentored for about a month by Houston Police Chief Jim McNiell and Sgt. Tim Ceplina – investigated a mock suicide at city hall, and then presented information in a press conference attended by student journalists.
Mentored by Houston Herald editor Jeff McNiell, the HHS team’s student journalists have been working together twice a week for about a month, and this week’s press conference with student cops was the third they’ve attended.
The Constitution Project was founded in 2011 by Texas County Associate Circuit Judge Doug Gaston and was held in Houston the first two years before going statewide last year. Its goal is to give students a mock crime scene to investigate, report on and eventually try in a mock trial, all under the mentorship of local professionals in the fields of crime scene investigation, journalism and trial advocacy. Each team must have a minimum of 13 and a maximum of 17 participants, including at least two prosecutors, two defense attorneys, a judge, four to six reporters and four to six crime scene investigators.
Along with HHS, this year’s field includes Cardinal-Ritter Prep, Clayton, Dixon, Father Tolton Regional Catholic, Helias Catholic, defending champion Logan-Rogersville, Nixa, Park Hills Central, St. James, Washington and West Plains.
Houston, Logan-Rogersville, Nixa and West Plains will meet Tuesday in Springfield for Region 1 crime scene competition at the Greene County Public Safety Center (next to Greene County Courthouse). The regional courtroom competition is set for Oct. 27 at the Texas County Justice Center.
The HHS squad’s lawyers will gather several times next week at the Justice Center for practice and mentoring by local attorney Kimberly Lowe and other professionals in the judicial field.
To view more photos from Wednesday’s Constitution Project exercise, click this link:
http://houston.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=53416571&event=1858155&CategoryID=57447