Legal Eaglets Get a Bird’s-Eye View

Torts and trials are inspiring several Fullerton and Anaheim students to pursue careers in the courtroom.

For the first time, North Orange County Regional Occupation Program is offering a Careers in Law class. The pilot class is held four afternoons a week at Troy High School, but program officials hope more high schools will pick it up next year.

The class introduces students to fields of law, including criminal, contract and family, focusing on a variety of legal occupations.

The program offers classes in career training and exploration, drawing students mostly from high schools but also from the broader community.

Besides offering guest speakers and staging mock trials, Cherol Katz, an attorney who teaches the class, loads her students into vans at least once a month and takes them to Orange County law and paralegal colleges, courthouses and legal conferences.

She said the class helps students interested in law focus their career goals, which benefits them in college. Next year, the former Western State University College of Law professor hopes to help some students set up internships in local law offices.

“I didn’t get a chance to see all the stuff they’ve seen until I was out of law school,” Katz said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to reach students at an early age, when they’re starting to formulate what they want to do.”

On a recent school day, the students, who range in age from 16 to 60, sat in on family court and toured Juvenile Hall in Orange. The students talked about an unusual domestic violence case they had seen earlier and about past visits with judges, bailiffs and court reporters.

“It’s a good class if you want to go into law, because you get an idea of other jobs you can do besides being a lawyer,” Troy senior Tanesha Quenton, 17, said.

Students also said they understand the legal system better after seeing it firsthand.

“I used to think, ‘Why do cops do this? They’re just picking on us,’ ” said Christopher Gonzalez, 18, a senior at Gilbert-East High School in Anaheim. “Now I understand they’re just doing their jobs. And I know what my rights are too.”

Not all of Katz’s students are hunting for an occupation.

Nihad Seremet, 44, of Fullerton was a judge in Bosnia before he moved to the U.S. He said he’s taking the class to learn the basics of American law and legal language before entering law school here.

Several students already know law is for them, but they are checking out specialties.

“I want to be a lawyer, and this will help me decide what field to go into,” said Johana Capurso, 16, a sophomore at Savanna High School in Anaheim. “I thought I knew, but after all Miss Katz has shown us, I’m not so sure now.”