D.A.’s Legal Education Program

District Attorney Warren Montgomery’s office gave about 50 students from two St. Tammany Parish Public Schools a close-up look at the criminal justice system recently through the office’s Kids LEAD (Legal Education And Discovery) Program. Montgomery’s staff developed the program in partnership with St. Tammany schools to provide information to help students stay safe and make good decisions, while also exposing them to a variety of legal careers. The participants were students in the Law Studies classes at Covington and Salmen high schools. The presentations included: an explanation of the criminal justice system by Criminal Division Chief Collin Sims; a visit to District Judge William “Rusty” Knight’s courtroom for a talk from him about the consequences of bad decisions; a mock grand jury, led by Assistant District Attorney Ronnie Gracianette; a presentation by the Children’s Advocacy Center – Hope House about child abuse; an interactive activity and talk by Assistant District Attorney Sharry Scott and Investigator Molly Richmond about juvenile crimes and misdemeanors; and a presentation on cyber-crimes by a Special Agent from the Louisiana Department of Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Unit. The Kids LEAD program will be held again in the Spring.