By Gary Stallard
AC Office of Communications
Angelina College students from various programs recently teamed up for a “mock trial” held on the AC campus, with the goal to give those students practical application in a real-world setting.
Monica Newberg (Instructor, Criminal Justice) and Ivan Kaminsky (Instructor, Law Enforcement Academy) recruited students to help set up and conduct the entire proceeding.
The trial included students from Newberg’s Criminal Justice-1306 (Court Systems and Practices) course, along with Kaminsky’s AC Law Enforcement Academy cadets.
Newberg said her students used the learning objectives taught in the course to apply their knowledge of courtroom workgroups and their roles and responsibilities.
“I worked with the CJ students to decide upon a criminal offense that would allow for a victim to face their accuser so that we could incorporate the participation with our cadets,” Newberg said. “The CJ students decided on an assault charge, and we worked on their knowledge of following the case through arrest, arraignment, indictment and pre-trial, where they even filed motions ahead of the court date.
“I was truly impressed with their creativity and dedication.”
With Kaminsky acting as “judge,” his cadets were able to employ their knowledge from learning objectives they met within the chapters completed in the Basic Peace Officer Course (BPOC).
“We had the cadets be a part of the prosecution, defense, courtroom bailiff, and jurors,” Newberg said. “This was a nice way to allow learners in both groups to apply what they learned in class as practice in a real-world (mock) setting.”
Newberg added the cadets even served as part of the jury-selection process, where CJ students playing the roles of prosecutor and defense asked questions of the cadets in a true “voir dire” setting. Both the prosecution and defense used permitted strikes while selecting the pool of jurors.
Who took part
Criminal Justice students participating, along with their assigned roles, included the following: Myleah Davis (State Prosecutor), Jeffrey Diaz (Defense Attorney), Oscar Barboza (Patrol Officer), Zachery Dye (Detective), Elizabeth Ochoa (Criminal Forensic Investigator), and Mallory Garza (Crime Scene Technician).
AC Law Enforcement Academy (Class 123, Basic Peace Officer Course) cadets participating, along with their assigned roles, included the following: Cadet Chaney Spears (Stephanie DiVinci, Victim), Cadet Jace Clendennen (Jeffery Matisse, Defendant), Cadet Wyatt Wills (Bailiff) and jurors cadets Michelle Acosta, Brian Berry, Lance Goodman, Jimmy Peek, Charles Rambin and Matthew Thomas.
“This was definitely a unique learning experience for both the CJ students and the cadets,” Newberg said. “Now that we have this one in the books, we have a foundation set for the next which will be in Spring 2027.”
For information on AC’s Criminal Justice programs, contact Monica Newberg at mnewberg@angelina.edu.
For information on AC’s Law Enforcement Academy, contact Ivan Kaminsky at ikaminsky@angelina.edu.
