The Judicial Mentorship Program
The Judicial Mentorship Program intends to increase interest for the courts and justice system as a whole, teach and guide aspiring judges on their way towards the District Court bench, and incorporate judges and legal professionals to do so.
To be considered for the Program, you must
- be a citizen of the State of Firestone;
- not have an unbecoming amount of citations, arrests, or convictions on record;
- possess a bar certification – information available in the Department of Justice Discord;
- be in the Firestone Courts Discord;
- have excellent reasoning and comprehension abilities;
- not act inappropriately, fraudulently, or dishonestly;
- be given a private general entrance code by the Chief Justice.
Any person may be barred from, removed from, or accelerated through the Program for any reason.
The Program consists of five stages:
1. Aspiration Census
Any person who meets all necessary requirements and aspires to become a District Court Judge can complete the Judicial Mentorship Program Aspiration Census.
- The census form will be permanently open from 8 June 2021 onwards.
- Any and all resources may be utilized during the completion of the census form as long as there is no engagement in fraudulent practices.
- Advice must not be given or received.
Responses are reviewed by the Chief Justice with the optional guidance of the Associate Justices. If an aspiring mentee is not accepted into the Program or is removed mid-Program, they will be given general feedback and must wait at least 30 days before they may complete the census form to join the Program again.
2. General Overview Mentoring (GOM) – Theory
Mentees accepted into the Program will, if necessary, undergo training provided by Justices as to all general court processes and laws relevant to the District Court bench.
Additionally, if necessary, at this stage mentees will be appointed to a specific Justice or Judge to shadow their work, to gain advice from them, and to perform simple tasks related to the District Court bench – similar to a clerk – in order to become accustomed to the overall processes related to judgeship. Such a mentorship will remain throughout the mentee’s participation in the Program and is not fixed to this specific stage.
3. General Overview Mentoring (GOM) – Practical
Mentees will then, if necessary, undergo practical, non-assessed simulations to demonstrate the proper ways in which to conduct themselves in the following areas:
- Physical Trials
- Discord Trials
- Expungement Processing
- Trello & Documentation
- Warrants
4. Theoretical Aptitude Exam (TAE)
Mentees must take the Theoretical Aptitude Exam (TAE) before proceeding to the final stage of the Program.
The TAE:
- is timed between 20 to 40 minutes
- does not allow the use of any external resources or advice
- tests in various different, separate fields relevant to the District Court bench and laws
- consists of multiple choice, short response, and long response questions which are reasonably expected to be answerable by aspiring Judges without the need for in-depth research or analysis
TAE responses are reviewed by the Chief Justice alone and will be based on a marking scheme – where further consideration is necessary, the Associate Justices may provide their opinions. The TAE, in a different form, may be retaken up to 5 times before being subject to removal from the Program.
5. Practical Aptitude Exams (PAEs)
After passing the TAE, mentees must pass all Practical Aptitude Exams (PAEs) which are divided into 3 Exams (may be taken in any order):
- MOCK TRIAL: A physical, in-game bench mock trial announced for the public
- JURY: A Discord-hosted mock voir dire and a demonstration of all other jury processes
- DOCUMENTATION: A demonstration of document furnishing and Trello abilities
Each PAE is assessed individually by all the Justices of the Supreme Court. Whether a pass or fail exists will be based on the mentee’s overall performance. Individual PAEs may only be retaken 1 time before a removal from the Program is likely to occur.
End Stage
After passing all PAEs or otherwise being granted acceleration through the Program, the Associate Justices will provide a general recommendation to the Chief Justice as to whether or not the mentee is ready for the District Court. In the end, the Chief Justice will decide – based on the mentee’s overall performance – whether or not to recommend the mentee’s nomintion to the District Court bench.
Upon such a recommendation and nomination, the mentee must prepare all further matters related to judgeship – including the Senate confirmation hearing – on their own.
Any questions may be directed to Chief Justice thekerbal at thekerbal#1844 or other means.