Justice Jane Milanetti of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and Chair of the Hamilton Justice Education Network (HJEN) is the recipient of the 2016 Ontario Justice Education Network Chief Justices' Award for her exceptional work in promoting justice education in Hamilton among high school students.
Justice Jane Milanetti, right, received the 2016 Ontario Justice Education Network Chief Justices' Award for her work in promoting justice education in Hamilton among high school students. Justice Milanetti and Cathedral Law Teacher Patricia Valeri-Tortis, left, established the HJEN committee in 2008.
In 2008 Justice Milanetti established the HJEN committee along with Cathedral Law Teacher Patricia Valeri Tortis. The mandate of the HJEN Committee is to promote various justice sector activities, and in particular, the committee organizes the student mock trials twice a year at the John Sopinka Courthouse for Grade 11 and 12 law students.
To date over 1000 of our students have participated in these very valuable experiential learning opportunities and the students play all the roles of the participants in a trial, from lawyers, court clerks, judges, witnesses, court services officers, the accused and the jury. Valuable support from the school board is provided by Mary Jane Di Gregorio and Julie Angiolillo.
Justice Milanetti plays a key role in the organizational aspect of the mock trials. On the day of the mock trials she warmly welcomes the students and reminds them that it is "their courthouse." She encourages them to embrace the experience and think about the myriad of careers in the justice sector both in and outside of the courtroom. Justice Milanetti was nominated by Law teachers Andrea Leone from St. Thomas More and Patricia Valeri Tortis from Cathedral High School. We congratulate Justice Milanetti on her award and thank her for all her hard work and dedication to justice education in Hamilton.
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