OTLA Trial Lawyer Summer 2021

4 Trial Lawyer • Summer 2021 By Judge Michael H. Simon U.S. District Judge I joined the board of the Classroom Law Project in 1998 and have been there continuously for the past 23 years, in- cluding serving as its president from 2002-2003. Other than my family (Su- zanne and I have been married for 36 years) and being part of the legal profes- View From The Bench Judge Michael H. Simon Nothing less than our democratic republic is at stake sion (since 1981), I can’t think of any- thing else I have done for 23 years straight. Indeed, I have only been a federal judge for 10 years. The Classroom Law Project sponsors and runs: (1) the We the People compe- tition, which tests high school students’ knowledge of constitutional principles, theories, applications and history in a simulated congressional hearing format; (2) a Mock Trial competition, which allows high school students to portray attorneys and witnesses in presenting fictional criminal and civil jury trials; (3) Project Citizen, in which students re- search a public policy issue, develop an action plan, and present their findings and recommendations before leaders at the state Capitol; (4) Courthouse Tours, where students in grades 5-12 tour court-