Before participating in Legal Outreach, a legal education program for urban teens in New York City, Anthony Long, 16, didn't have a clear understanding of how the justice system worked.

"None of it made sense to me," said Anthony. "I had that view because I had a problem with the law. A kid in my neighborhood once threatened me with a blade and he got off for nothing. I also watch TV shows, such as Law and Order, which showed me that sometimes people…can be wrongfully accused for a crime they did not commit."

But after participating in Legal Outreach's unique combination of law instruction, exposure to adult professionals, and simulated legal activities, such as mock trials, Anthony now has a much more informed and nuanced view of the justice system.

For example, he now knows that police can only arrest someone with probable cause or suspicion, or under certain other specific circumstances. "The most important thing I learned was to know my rights with the police," Anthony said, "because some cops pick on people who are not Caucasian-forcing you to say things without a lawyer present or not reading kids their rights."

And, in addition, Anthony is now motivated to go to a good college-a goal he did not have much confidence of achieving before he entered the program.

For the past 20 years, Legal Outreach has used legal education to provide opportunities to youth from under-resourced communities, who are willing to work hard to actualize their dreams.

"Our goal is not to necessarily change their views about the system," said James O'Neal, Legal Outreach's Co-Founder and Executive Director, "but instead to offer them the knowledge base and tools to fairly and intelligently critique it. It's the reason why the course is entitled, 'Criminal Justice: Theory & Practice'."

O'Neal graduated from Harvard Law School in 1982 and came to New York as Harvard's first Public Interest Law Fellowship recipient. He began teaching law to students in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the South Bronx, discovering that he could sustain interest and develop skills by focusing on legal issues affecting their communities, such as child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and police use of force.

"These issues are important to address," said O'Neal, "because they, to a large extent, determine whether students believe that the entire legal system is just or unjust."

Based on his classroom experience, O'Neal designed and wrote four law-related curricula, which teach students about the criminal justice process step-by-step, from the investigation of crimes through the sentencing process. By taking this approach, the young people are able to critique the system from a more informed perspective and, hopefully, come away with a more balanced view of the role of the law in their lives.

Each year, over 2,600 students participate in Legal Outreach's two core programs: Law-Related Education (LRE), which introduces junior high school students to the legal system, and College Bound (CB), an intensive enrichment and support program for participants who are interested in preparing for college and professional careers. In addition, 60 eighth-graders participate in rigorous Summer Law Institutes held annually at Columbia University and Brooklyn Law Schools.

Anthony, a high school freshman, was initially attracted to the program two years ago when Rachel Stevens, a Legal Outreach staff member, conducted an orientation at his school. The students were asked to consider a fictitious criminal case involving cannibalism among four shipwreck survivors.

"She did a mini mock-trial with us," Anthony recalled. "She made me think differently about my perspective on the case. She really challenged me to look at the different evidence provided and the people on trial. After it was over, I came to the conclusion that this was the program for me."

Anthony says the program is different from any other classes he took in school: "When you say something, they really want you to explain what you're saying."

Hands-on experiential education-in which students learn and apply the law by playing judges, witnesses, and jurors in mock trials-is at the heart of Legal Outreach's approach. Students learn the basics of trial practice, and then are taught how to craft opening statements, direct and cross examination questions, and closing arguments. Upon acquiring these skills, they are given a case to which they must apply what they've learned as a member of the prosecution or defense team.

Students are assigned the roles of attorneys and witnesses. The trials are not rehearsed. Students are hearing each other's statements, questions, and arguments for the first time once the mock-trial competition begins. Each side must be prepared to put forth the best case possible to prove that the defendant is either guilty or not-guilty.

What stood out the most for Anthony was the mock trial preparation. The Legal Outreach instructors gave him and his student partner guidelines on how they were to testify, but Anthony, as the instructors encourage, took it further in developing his presentation.

"We made it our own thing," he said. "We did a lot of research, we used a lot of law books, and did work on the computer. Mock trials get us to experience the law, more than just hear about it or read about it." Anthony won the Best Witness award for his presentation in the mock trial.

Students who participate in Legal Outreach benefit from close and regular contact with adult professionals. Guest speakers have come from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Columbia University Law School, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Law students from NYU and Columbia have provided instruction in mock trial practice.

And since the graduation of the first College Bound class in 1993, 176 students have completed the program and all have attended college, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Swarthmore, Cornell, NYU, Bryn Mawr, and many more.

Legal Outreach has had a major impact on Anthony Long's plans for higher education. After graduating from high school in 2008, he plans to attend college in California, and his career goal is to become a graphic designer.

"Before entering the program, I didn't believe that I could get into a good college," he said. "Now, with the encouragement of my two instructors, I believe I can."