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Learning the law. Questioning the system.
Law & Order ProjectMain Reading: The Hate You Give, The 1st and 14th Amendment
Law & Order was an interdisciplinary Humanities project that invited students to investigate the relationship between law, justice, and power in American society. Through historical analysis, literature, policy debates, and a culminating mock trial, students explored how laws are created, interpreted, and experienced by different communities.
❋ Essential Questions
What is Justice and who gets to decide? How might implicit biases impact our judicial system? What are our inalienable rights?
❋ What Students Learned
Students learned to analyze complex social issues and systems, data literacy, construct evidence-based arguments, restorative justice practices, and apply their learning and voice in authentic legal simulations.
❋ Why It's Liberatory
Rather than accepting the justice system as neutral, students were encouraged to critically examine how race, identity, bias, and power influence legal outcomes. The project positioned young people as investigators, advocates, and decision-makers, empowering them to question systems, evaluate evidence, and imagine more just possibilities.
❋ TLC Values in Action
This project embodied Liberation by helping students interrogate systems of power and injustice, Love through an emphasis on empathy and human dignity, and Wild Potential by trusting students to engage critically with complex societal questions. It also reflected Community and Alchemy, transforming historical knowledge, personal reflection, and civic inquiry into meaningful action and deeper understanding.
Project Launch
At the beginning of every project we have a launching event to get the students excited and engaged in the upcoming work. This video was part of the launch.
This project culminated in students participating in over two days of mock trials at the San Diego Superior Court in front of real judges. Below is a slideshow of the two days.
The Exhibition
Project Handout
Student Roles
Student Voting Sheet (students chose their role and their case)
Juror Scoresheet