Rising seventh grader Owen Lere took on the role of both a lawyer and a witness as he and his team tried to convince a jury to award damages in a fictitious case of a boy who was burned during a school marshmallow melting experiment.

While his side didn’t prevail — the defense had a legal edge — the experience only increased his enthusiasm for learning about the legal system with a goal of becoming an actual lawyer.

“I love arguing,” said Owen, who attends Erie’s Soaring Heights PK-8. “Fighting for justice is cool. One hundred percent I love this.”

The mock trial was the culmination of a recent four-day pre-law camp held at St. Vrain Valley’s Career Elevation and Technology Center. The new pre-law camp was one of eight June camps designed to give middle school students a preview of the

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