Magda Khedr clears her throat and looks up at the three student justices. ‘Your honors, may I start?’ she asks.
After a brief nod, the high school senior launches into her opening: she argues that a search of a student’s phone violated the Fourth Amendment. The defendant is a fictional student, the facts are staged, but the pressure and preparation are real.
This is a day-long moot court in New York City, part of an annual competition that draws teams from more than 30 high schools across the city. The ‘justices’ are law students from Fordham University. Their verdicts don’t create law, but their feedback and scoring simulate courtroom stakes and teach students how legal argument and decision-making work.
Organized for 41 years and tied into the city’s civics curriculum, the program offers a rare window into the judicial process for teenagers who often see only case outcomes rather than the arguments behind them. Students spend weeks researching precedent, drafting briefs and rehearsing oral advocacy before stepping into the courtroom.
The mock case under debate involves a prank that leads to a meeting with an assistant principal. While the student is questioned, a school resource officer searches her phone and does not advise her of Miranda rights. Khedr, who attends Susan E. Wagner High School on Staten Island, contends the search was unlawful. Brianna Mojica, a senior at the High School for Law, Advocacy and Community Justice, counters that the encounter wasn’t a custodial interrogation—arguing the officer’s presence didn’t automatically convert a routine school meeting into police custody. During her opening, Mojica used an analogy to emphasize her point: the presence of an official does not always change the nature of an encounter, in the way that a single element does not necessarily redefine a setting.
The competition arrives at a time when civics education is receiving heightened attention nationally. The federal administration recently announced a coalition with conservative groups aimed at reshaping civics instruction ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, promoting renewed patriotism and a focus on founding principles. That initiative joins broader concern about civic knowledge: national assessment data show that civics scores for eighth graders have declined since 2014, raising alarms about polarization and students’ preparedness for participation in democratic life.
Experts stress that civics is more than memorizing branches of government or historical dates; it includes practical skills. Louise Dubé, CEO of iCivics, the nonpartisan organization founded by retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, emphasizes that democratic life depends on the ability to disagree civilly and problem-solve across differences. iCivics supplies free lessons and interactive tools that teach core concepts like checks and balances while encouraging students to engage in community service and civic action.
Locally, the Justice Resource Center, which runs Fordham’s moot court and other programs, aims to build analytical and communicative skills. Michael Seif, a senior program manager there, says the goal is for students to gain a baseline understanding of how government works and to practice oral advocacy so they can analyze law-related issues critically and apply that knowledge in everyday life.
On the day of the competition, the law-student judges do more than render a winner. They critique arguments, highlight strengths and weaknesses, and score teams to determine which advance. The feedback can be affirming: the judges complimented both Khedr and Mojica on preparation and poise. One judge praised Mojica’s analogy in particular; another reflected on how impressive the students’ performances were compared with what she had been capable of in high school.
Marla Kleinman, a social studies teacher at Wagner High School who helped coach Khedr’s team, says the program reinforces a civics approach that centers student voice. Her classroom message is simple and steady: ‘It’s okay to challenge ideas, not people.’ That lesson, she adds, is at the heart of preparing future citizens to engage thoughtfully and respectfully in public life.