Charlotte, NC – Brian Cromwell, a partner in Parker Poe’s Charlotte office, recently acted as presiding judge for the Mecklenburg County Teen Court program hosted by the Assistance League of Charlotte. The annual “mock trial competition,” is for teen volunteers to put their advocacy skills to the test by prosecuting and defending a mock case; this year’s theme was cyberbullying.
Mr. Cromwell has been a Teen Court judge for 17 years, since the early days of the program. The Mecklenburg County Teen Court program has been in the Charlotte area since 1999 and assists first-time teenage offenders who face legal charges for nonviolent, misdemeanor crimes.
Brian was joined by Parker Poe attorneys Eric Cottrell, Sarah Hutchins, and Jordan Temple who served as judges. Teen Court Program Administrator Lauren Bowley was the mock defendant. Six teenage attorneys from the program competed during the mock trial. Teen Court volunteers and teenage attorneys Emma Caponigro (defense) and Emily Scheppegrell (prosecution) were the winners of the competition. Teen attorney Jeff Holmes was awarded Best Interviewer for his pre-trial preparation and fact discovery with Ms. Bowley.
Media coverage from the trial day is available: the coverage from Time Warner Cable News can be found here and the Fox 46 coverage can be found here. View photos from the event here.
About Assistance League of Charlotte
Assistance League of Charlotte was founded in 1992 and became the 93rd Chapter of National Assistance League® in 1995. Assistance League of Charlotte is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families through community-based philanthropic programs - we feed, we cloth, we mentor, we educate. To learn more, please visit www.charlotte.assistanceleague.org.
About Parker Poe
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP has approximately 200 lawyers in seven offices located in major markets across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The firm provides legal counsel to large commercial and public organizations on litigation, corporate and regulatory matters.