Bakersfield College opened its Performing Arts Center on April 29 to host the first annual Pre-Law Day for all students in Kern County with an interest in the field of law.

In addition to many BC students, Pre-Law Day also included high school mock trial and debate team students from around Kern County.

To kick off the day, BC president Sonya Christian took to the stage to welcome the students in attendance, and explained the emphasis of the pre-law program at BC.

“What we wanted to focus on was that not all of you will end up in a law profession, because the path of law is rigorous and it really sharpens your critical thinking skills and your writing skills, but those are leadership skills you can take any where you want to go, even if you don’t want to become an attorney,” said Christian.

Following Christian’s speech, the Dean of the pre-law program, Emmanuel Mourtzanos, also welcomed the students and began the first session of the day, which focused on the 50th anniversary of the Miranda decision.

After bringing a volunteer from the audience on stage to recite the Miranda Warning, the audience watched a short video on the original Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona.

Mourtzanos then welcomed attorney Heberto Sala and supervising deputy district attorney for Kern County Michael Yraceburn to the stage to discuss their career paths and the effects these rights can have on different law professions.

From the perspective of a prosecutor, Yraceburn argued, “The Miranda rights are okay because it guarantees a confession that I get to present to the jurors that is both voluntary and has sense of truth to it.”

Attorney Sala then argued “that even if Miranda rights are provided to someone, it doesn’t mean that the confession is voluntary, and the circumstances still have to be looked at to see if there were other actions the police did that made the statement involuntary.”

Sala also assured all students that the pre-law program at BC provides a unique opportunity for anyone interested in a law degree because it virtually ensures that if you follow the program you will be admitted to one of six prestigious universities in California.

After the discussion of the Miranda rights, criminal justice professor Chris Zoller introduced the next session for the day, which was a panel of attorneys discussing their personal journeys to the legal profession.

The panel consisted of four different professionals with law degrees, including Mr. Sala, Mr. Yraceburn, Deputy District Attorney Brandon Stallings, and Kern County Superior Judge Steven Katz.

In this panel discussion, the four men discussed how they obtained their degrees and doled out advice to audience members who also wanted to eventually earn a law degree.

One piece of advice attorney Stallings stressed was, “for most people, one of the greatest hindrances in getting a law degree is the issue of student debt, but there is a lot of information out there on how to avoid this crippling debt, and it is important to discuss this issue with your parents.”

The third session of the day was called JD Professionals, and was also a panel discussion, this time with Judge Louie Vega, attorney Ninca Glover, attorney Bethany Peak, and Professor Zoller.

This panel of professionals focused on the many different careers students with law degrees can pursue.

One piece of advice Judge Vega gave was, “There is a law career for whatever you have an interest in. One of my friends wanted to work with major league baseball and can do that as a lawyer.”

“I have had classmates who have attended medical school and now can be involved in medical research from a legal perspective. Whatever your interest is, there is a law career you can pursue.”

The last and final portion of Pre-Law Day was an internship fair. Students were encouraged to stop by college booths and chat with the local employers, who were looking for summer interns.

When political science professor and Pre-Law Day organizer Ed Borgens was asked how he thought the first Pre-Law Day went, he said, “There were people on the panels today who provided great information to students on how to use a law degree, and that was shown by our very diverse panels of professors, attorneys, non-profit workers.”

Borgens also added that he was very happy that BC has started reaching out not only to college students, but to high school students who he hopes after attending Pre-Law Day are feeling connected and better informed on how to take the next step toward a career in law.