This week, Year 10 students Tash Freiberg, Ella Simons and Liv Lazarow attended the Secondary Schools Parliamentary Convention at Parliament House. Students from around Victoria learned about the rules of the legislative chamber before debating the mock proposed bill to continue judge alone trials for indictable offenses post COVID-19. Ella Simons provided the opening statement for The King David School, arguing that judge alone trials should not continue. Students heard from Associate Professor Jacqui Horan, Law Faculty at Monash University as well as Dr Felicity Gerry QC, Professor of Legal Practice, Deakin University who both argued that the 12 perspectives of Jurors mean that trials will be less affected by bias than judge alone trials.

All three King David students spoke passionately on the topic during the soapbox, showcasing their extraordinary public speaking skills and their ability to propose new arguments. The mock bill did not pass, with the overwhelming majority of students voting to not retain judge alone trials.

It was a wonderful day of learning the joys and difficulties of debating proposed legislation in the actual chamber where Victorian legislation is proposed.