Justice in the Real World

This past semester, JUSTICE Academy teachers Mieko Harrington and Charlie Dodson have made it a point to show their students what the real world is like in the law enforcement profession.
Charlie Dodson, the Criminal and Civil Law teacher at Poly, organized the Allstate Street Law Program where students spent two days in class working with ten lawyers and paralegals from Allstate’s Torrance office. Additionally, Harrington, the Intro to Social Justice teacher, organized seven in-class guest speakers to talk to her students about their careers.
In the Allstate Street Law program, the students focused on two types of liability situations: sexual harassment and host responsibility for underage drinking. Then, on Wednesday, December 9, the students traveled to the Torrance office and participated in Mock Trial scenarios and interviewed all of the employees about their different career paths.
“Participating in the Allstate Street Law program assisted me in figuring out what I want to do with my future by giving me an insight on what happens behind the scenes. This program helped me understand there’s way more to every career than you see or hear about on the outside,” said junior Jaclyn Pangelinan.
The purpose of the program was to show students different jobs in the office, from lawyers to claims adjusters, demonstrating that you do not have to be a lawyer to work in the field. It also gave students an inside look on the day-to-day life of being a lawyer.
“Street Law has really enabled me to see through the eyes of a real lawyer, a profession I fully intend to carry through out school,” said senior Marina Bowley.

“The legislation that runs our government and most importantly, involve themselves in real life ethical issues that they usually don’t experience in everyday life.”
Harrington organized seven guest speakers who represented different aspects of the justice profession. She brought in a Correctional Officer for a level four all men’s jail, a Signal Hill Police Officer, and a Long Beach Police Sergeant to show the law enforcement side of the justice system. A Parole Officer and a Probation Officer came in to speak about the rehabilitation aspect of the law. A family attorney spoke about the law profession, and City Councilwoman Stacy Mungo represented the political aspect.
Hearing from each guest speaker is beneficial because “[students] get firsthand information from people who work the jobs, bringing in real life stories and incidences,” said Harrington.