Photo By Officer Candidate Sean Harding | Students from the Kuwait International Law School convene as jury after a mock trial...... read more read more
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CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait -- Some of Kuwait’s brightest future attorneys recently had a unique opportunity to sit as a member of a jury in a U.S.-style trial.
The legal team at Area Support Group - Kuwait hosted students from the Kuwait International Law School at a mock trial on Camp Arifjan this month. The purpose of the trial was to further integrate with Kuwaiti society and open up American culture to local residents.
“We already work closely with our military counterparts in Kuwait,” said U.S. Army Capt. Kurt Abourched, a judge advocate general officer. “So how do you integrate into Kuwaiti society more? Well, you’ve got to open it to the citizens of Kuwait.’”
The students arrived on Camp Arifjan by bus and spent an hour learning the U.S. legal system and three branches of federal government. Afterwards, they assumed the roles of jurors on a mock trial focused on a missing vehicle. Kuwaiti courts do not have juries, so it was an opportunity for students to try something new.
“I actually loved it,” said Fatemah Alzahvaa, a third-year law student who is interested in corporate law. “Because when you take part of something, it really just sinks in a lot better.”
The partnership between the Kuwaitis and the Americans was as strong as ever.
“I think we can all agree that we think the American system is kind of confusing sometimes,” Alzahvaa said. “But I think today just did a really good job at clarifying everything.”
“It was brilliant,” said third-year student Mohammad Alenezi. “It was very impressive to us as something new that we wanted to watch.”
Abourched said he’s considering hosting a more interactive future event in the future, where U.S. and Kuwaiti military legal-officers sit side-by-side to cross-examine witnesses and make arguments to the jury.
“The relationship speaks for itself,” Alenezi said. “We’re great nations. We have a good relationship … we hope it grows and we get closer and closer together.”
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2019 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 348399 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 235 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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