Watch a video of Stand Up for Your Rights in action!

Stand Up for Your Rights is an eight-week after-school program in which middle school students develop and defend a position on a Bill of Rights issue.

Stand Up for Your Rights engages students in an in-depth study of the rules and protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. It helps students understand the concepts of probable cause and unreasonable search and seizure and how those concepts apply to the lives of ordinary people. By focusing on one example of a Fourth Amendment case that was argued before the United States Supreme Court, students learn the fundamentals of the law and how to connect that knowledge with their own opinions.

In preparing a case for hearing, students learn to gather supporting information about both sides of the case, apply other Fourth Amendment cases, and relate their own personal experience in creating their arguments. They learn to write clearly and logically, listen carefully to questions, think critically before speaking, and develop the presentation skills needed to argue a case before a judge — including the ability to stand and speak with authority.

Attorney volunteers work with students after school for approximately seven weeks, teaching about the Bill of Rights and related Supreme Court cases. Over the course of the program, students prepare a mock appellate argument involving the Fourth Amendment to be presented in the Moakley U.S. Courthouse or the John Adams Courthouse at the culmination of the program in the eighth week.

The Case

The following case is used in Stand Up for Your Rights:

New Jersey v. T.L.O.
While searching a student’s purse for cigarettes, a high school administrator found evidence that suggested the student was using and selling marijuana.  The student’s case, on the basis of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, went from the Juvenile Court to the U.S. Supreme Court.

To Volunteer

We are looking for attorneys who are interested in working with middle-school students (ages 11 – 14) and who have a passionate interest in the Bill of Rights. 

Time Requirements:

• Participation in a training session
• Time to read and study the case used in the course
• Approximately one afternoon a week for 8 weeks (depending on program schedule)
• At least two hours per class, including travel time
• Weekly class preparation time

If you are interested in bringing Stand Up for Your Rights to your school or program, please contact us.

For information about other Discovering Justice volunteer opportunities, please visit Get Involved.