Monthly Archives: January 2019

By Sierra Jackson

The vastness of Texas is evident at the Texas Youth and Government (YG) Conference with delegations representing nearly all regions of the state.

Delegate Lauren Graham from Timber Creek High School in Keller, TX is just one of the many. She serves as a judge in County Court for the Youth and Government State Conference. She started YG last year as an attorney in Mock Trial.

“It was my first year doing anything law-related and I just fell in love with it. I thought this year I would try out to be judge ,” said Graham. “I really love it.”

Graham has always wanted to go into law and government as a professional and thought that YG was the place to get real-life experience.

”I’ve talked to a lot of people who are lawyers, and they really didn’t have any law experience until they got to college or law school,” Graham said.”But now, I’m starting out and I already have two years of experience in how a court runs and all the things that go into the government and YG is a great opportunity to get involved.”

Graham judged an intoxicated manslaughter mock trial case today. Graham ruled that the defendant was guilty.

Graham plans to do pre-law and minor in journalism for her undergraduate degree.

“I really am passionate about journalism, especially in my newspaper and my yearbook team,” Graham said. ” But I would also like to go to law school for a foundation.”

After she goes to law school she hopes to pursue a career that will lead her to the Supreme Court.

“Another thing YG taught me is that I don’t really want to be a courtroom attorney. I enjoyed and had a lot of fun doing it but I don’t think it’s the right fit for me,” said Graham.

By Meghan Wright

Allyson-lynn Naylor of the Westwood (Dallas) Delegation spoke commented on her view of YG before the commencement of Round 2 of County Court Trials. Naylor, a Senior in high school, has been a member of the Youth and Government (YG) Judicial section for her Junior and Senior year. Naylor has served as an attorney in both District and County Court.

At home in Palestine Texas, Naylor is the acting Vice President of the Westwood Delegation and an upstanding attorney of the County Court team. Her team regards her highly as an essential member in the Judicial section and as an effective and courteous Delegation Vice President. Her team will miss her once she graduates, according to Naylor’s team

Naylor expressed the extent of the work she has put into her career in YG and the impact that YG has had on her life.

“I prepared so much for the State Conference. I attended a law program at Stanford recently,” Naylor said. “YG has made my life so much crazier but in a good way. YG has inspired me to pursue law enforcement as a career after I graduate this year.”

In the courtroom, Naylor uses her past experiences in YG to her advantage. In the case that I sat in on, she masterfully questioned witnesses for the Defense. She was prepared to win and adapt in whatever way necessary to win the case for her team. She cites that her experience in District Court last year as an instrumental tool in guiding a team that is mostly comprised of Freshmen in advancing to the State Conference.

“I would like to see more clarity and organization with the conference and the cases that Judicial gets,” Naylor said. “I feel like the State Conference should be longer so we as delegates can get to know our Governor candidates better. I feel like there is just too much to push into one weekend. I want to see the program that I love so dearly continue to thrive and grow.”

By: Noor Mohamed

First-year counsel Christian Velasquez and Angela Nguyen Hoang from Creek View High School went up against senior team Cesilia Perez and Freddy Nieto from Dell Valley High School in a case surrounding intoxicated manslaughter at the Texas Youth and Government (TXYG) State Conference.

The case debates the motion to suppress evidence on an account of error done to Cameron Shepard, the man charged with intoxicated manslaughter. It is the counsels’ job to plead on behalf of both Mr. Shepard and Mr. Cole (arresting officer).

Appellant counsel (Perez and Nieto) opened the floor by placing emphasis on the power of protection that the 4th amendment serves as well as pleading the suppression of the officer’s body camera video as inadmissible hearsay.

Despite being Perez’s third year at TXYG, Judge Brian Jones presented challenging elements during debate. Articulating answers left and right she used the evidence from other court cases to back up her stance.

“The way that the guidelines are most commonly established amongst magistrates is to first reach out to the magistrate that is on call and this is why I bring up Cole v. State,” Jones said.  

On the opposing end, the Appellee counsel (Velasquez and Nguyen Hoang) made headway on their points indicating a heap of confidence despite their nerves ongoing against an experienced team.

“Officer Cole knows that by turning on the body camera everything that is captured on the camera which includes the audio and video recording will have a chance of being used as evidence,” said Hoang.

Judge Jones ruled the case in favor of the Appellant after both counsels final arguments. Jones’ final rule was determined by the fact that “there were several elements of hearsay in it, but it was not enough to completely eliminate the footage from the submission of evidence.”

Both teams spent months preparing for this trial and brought thorough arguments to the courtroom.

“A substantial amount of reading went into case law, facts, evidence, and affidavits. By reading case law not only were we more prepared, but we were able to follow more guidelines to prove our point,” says Perez.

Nieto reaffirmed their preparation by emphasizing the development of critical thinking as a skill necessary to break down the case, “there’s more to it than you just see that can actually help you make deeper connections to the case.”

First-year team Velasquez and Hoang had a different yet interesting approach.

“We thoroughly went over our information and tried to memorize as much as we could to help be better quick thinkers during the trial. We also tried to prepare questions the judge might ask us before entering the room which personally helped me a lot,” said Velasquez.

Hoang added that “most of it was through our teamwork. Without him [Velasquez], I wouldn’t have been able to perform as well as I did or be able to develop more of my ideas from a different point of view.”

Through the dynamics of both teams, it is evident of the hard work that an immense amount of students bring packed in their suitcases when arriving to the annual YG conference.

From an outside perspective, Judge Jones observed that “it was very intriguing how one focused on how severe the problem was and pleaded more to one’s emotions than actual case law. While the other really focused on precedent. ‘What would it mean about the future?’ this really honed into my role as a justice and what I should be concerned about.”

Both teams plan on being critical in future trials to be able to strengthen the skills that have been working for them, but also build from what their opponents say to keep growing their arguments. They both hope to be as successful throughout the rest of the conference and learn from others as much as possible.

By Sarah Roy

On the first day of attendance at the Youth and Government 72nd State Conference, students from various districts competing in legislative were given the opportunity to present their bills. While being advised by Kayley Niette as chair and William Ashcraft as Clerk, students in this category addressed many educational concerns through their bills in the education hearing committee in hopes to get them passed to House.

Many of the bills presented had recurring elements as students shared concerns over similar topics. A notable concern shared among the participants was the implementation of courses that would benefit a student’s educational career, these varying from courses providing students with educational college assistance to courses providing students of younger ages with a foundation in business and technology education.

Escarleth Soto, a student from Skyline High School, proposed the bill to provide Texas high school students with elective credit college educational courses. Through this course students would have the resources to look into college applications, scholarships, financial aid, and also work on essays required for applications and scholarships. There would be social science teachers trained to meet the qualifications to advise the course and ultimately provide the best assistance for high school students.

While this bill was regarded as well structured by the committee, it was also questioned.

“All of this information could still be found online, why take the time to create guidelines for something that could seemingly be done in one’s personal time?” a delegate said.

Soto brought up the point that some students have difficulties finding the time to complete these tasks. She expressed how, “some students, especially AP students, do not have the time during the day”. As an AP and dual credit student herself, this was a main concern dealt with in her bill. Through her bill, Soto found it to be a task of significance that students be provided with all the opportunities available for them to achieve as they move forward with their future.

Not only was there consideration a student’s future reflected in the bills presented, but the foundation in which a student is brought up in as well. In student Paarth Dewan’s bill he proposed that technology or business based classes be implemented in public schools from fifth to eighth grade.

“Many children today are not learning enough about business and technology,” Dewan said.

Through his bill he wanted to use funds from the Texas Department of Education to hire qualified teachers to administer the course and get this knowledge of business and technology rooted sooner, rather than simply having these courses offered at a high school level.

“If you start from a younger age you can build a better foundation,” Dewan said.

This common drive to provide more educational opportunities for youth among students involved legislative conveyed how significant this cause is to many of them. The participants’ use of their bills addressed different ways to make the educational system more flexible and helpful for students.

By Meghan Wright

During the first round of County Court trials on Friday a significant issue arose. There appeared to be a consistent lack of communication between the State-organized information sources and Judicial teams. The lack of communication created a sense of disunity among the individual members and the teams associated with the Judicial section of Youth and Government

County Court Team 12 from Midland on the side of the Defense and Team 19 from Waxahachie on the side of the State, demonstrated the effects that the lack of communication has taken on Judicial. While Team 12 was prepared and aware of updates to the court case and regulations, Team 19 struggled due to a lack of information in general terms.

Team 19 attempted to enter the death certificate of Chassidy Barnes as Evidence Exhibit A during their direct questioning of a witness. Their attempt was denied due to confusion over whether or not Exhibit A was admissible on the grounds of whether it was in the October update of the case. After the trial, it was discovered that their evidence was admissible and valid. Team 19 lost points over the confusion with Exhibit A.

After questioning both an attorney and a witness from the Waxahachie delegation, it became apparent that information that was essential to the success of the Prosecution’s case was never brought to their immediate attention.

“I walked in prepared but I was thrown off by some of their   (Team 12) questions and some objections,” said Madison Randall, Waxhachie delegation.  “I was aware of the updated case but copies were not able to be made in time. We need more communication between State and District. The case needs communication.”

“I was prepared for my witness but I wasn’t aware of any updates to the affidavits. I wasn’t aware that there was an updated version of the documents,” said Alyssa Mills who represented a witness named Imani Haines.

The Midland Delegation was aware of the changes to the case and adjusted their strategy for winning the case. Team 12 of the Midland Delegation did not give a statement.

By Qandeel Suleman

Caleb Zhang, presented a bill proposing to eliminate automatic admissions at Texas public universities for Texas applicants. The bill was voted to be sent to the House of Senate Action.

“Automatic admissions solely looks at a student’s rank, it does not consider a student’s application holistically,” Zhang said.

Furthermore, the bill presenter cited information from colleges outside of Texas, such as California, who use a holistic review process in which grades and rank are the only matter of significance. In these schools, extracurriculars and leadership roles also hold a greater significance in the admissions process.

“Harvard University has revealed that a student’s rank and grades only comprise 25 percent of their application, while essays, SAT scores, and extracurricular activities comprise the other 75 percent,” Zhang said.  

During his three minute presentation of the bill, Zhang repeatedly integrated situations in which the current automatic admissions process is not only unfair, but even discouraging students in their attempt to apply.

After introducing his bill, Zhang was questioned about the effects and clarification of his intention with his bill along, to allow his fellow delegates to send the bill into the House of Senate Action.

“Students would still have an advantage over their other peers because they do still have a higher rank and they will still be rewarded for their hard work, however this will just be supplement to your essay to and to other activities outside of school,” Zhang said.

Even when presented with the information of the benefits of automatic admission, Zhang stated there was no actual correlation. Additionally, the committee added an amendment to strengthen the original bill by not allowing a college to hold rank at more than 50 percent of their acceptance criteria. The bill was voted to be sent to the House of Senate Action.

As Zhang filled out his own college application, the automatic admission process was  “something that was on [his] mind a lot.”

“A number does not define a student,” Zhang said.