More than 1,700 students in schools across Canada are learning about Duty Counsel Day, their legal rights, and the justice system.
This week, junior and senior high school students across Canada are learning about their legal rights and how front-line lawyers called duty counsel protect Canadians and keep the justice system functioning.
More than 1,700 students and teachers from nearly every province and territory will participate in Duty Counsel Day in the Classroom on October 27, learning about the vital role of duty counsel, whose job is to provide free, on-the-spot legal advice in criminal and family court cases.
Classrooms will be transformed into mini courtrooms for students to role-play a typical day in docket court. Hands-on lessons have been customized to the high school curriculum in each province and territory, helping teachers plan and meet their learning objectives.
Duty counsel services are delivered by legal aid lawyers in courtrooms across Canada. It is estimated that duty counsel handles 1.2 million legal assists every year. Without duty counsel, courts would be clogged with people with little to no knowledge of the law or justice system representing themselves.
Curious students get “first-hand knowledge”
In addition to providing teachers with a mock courtroom scenario that can be played out in the classroom, schools can invite duty counsel to speak to their students.
Educators know this is important information for young Canadians.
“Legal rights are part of Alberta’s Grade 9 Social Studies curriculum. My students are very curious about how the system works, especially duty counsel,” said one Alberta teacher participating in the program.
“It’s wonderful to have experts available to satisfy their curiosity with accurate information and first-hand knowledge.”
Students are learning why duty counsel matters, how to access it, and what working as a frontline lawyer is like.