The Senior Legal Studies course at Concordia College has always strived to ensure students are presented with the opportunity to apply their classroom theory to real-world contexts. For the past fifteen years, students have biannually visited the Magistrate, District and Supreme Courts to hear real cases and hear from some of South Australia’s most prestigious and experienced legal counsel. Through this, students develop a working understanding of the legal system and judicial process and the complexities of presenting evidence to trial. On this occasion, the class were fortunate enough to commence their day with Supreme Court Justice Ann Bampton, supported by Associate Sarah Schonfeldt. Justice Bampton’s perspectives of how the law interacts with society and what measures are required to keep our society safe were sobering and interesting insights for our students.

For this authentic experience to occur, Rick Sommariva must be commended on his dedication to the Legal Studies program at Concordia, as his connections have allowed students to experience insights that may not be available to other educational contexts. In addition, we congratulate Rick on receiving a gold medallion acknowledging his service to the Governor’s Civics Awards for Schools Reference Group.

Vanessa Narino-Terry
Acting Head of Humanities