What can students teach lawyers? Attorneys had a chance to find out on Feb. 23 when the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), in partnership with Rutgers Law School–Newark, Rutgers Law School–Camden, Seton Hall Law School and Monmouth University held a first-of-its-kind continuing legal education program where students presented on landmark cases related to students’ rights and jurisprudence.
“The High Court and High School—20 Landmark Supreme Court Decisions that Impact Students’ Rights” consisted of four panels, one from each school, covering topics such as the Pledge of Allegiance, saluting the flag, school prayer, drug testing, freedom of speech, censorship of school newspapers, the rights of undocumented students, search and seizure, and more.
Among the student lecturers that evening was Devin Coia of Vineland, a sophomore political science major with a concentration in legal
studies at Monmouth University. Here she is, in her own words (lightly edited for clarity), talking about the experience.
What case did you present and how did you select it?
I presented the 2007 Supreme Court case, Morse v. Frederick. This was assigned to me; however, I was familiar with the facts of this landmark case from being discussed in previous law classes.
What did you find of particular interest about the case?
One of the most interesting aspects of this case was that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school officials can legally reprimand student speech if the evidence reasonably reflects that the nature of the speech promotes the use of illegal drugs at school-supervised events. Even though the incident (in the case) did not happen on official school grounds, the Court decided that the First Amendment does not prevent school administrators from suppressing student speech if the speech entails reference to the illegal usage of drugs.
Do you hope to become an attorney? Why does that path interest you?
My ultimate goal is to attend law school and become an entertainment lawyer in Nashville, Tennessee. I am highly interested in intellectual property and copyright law; therefore I would love to have a career where I can pursue those interests in one of the biggest entertainment hotspots in the country.