CLIPBOARD : CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF ORANGE COUNTY

Patricia Hitchcock, executive director of the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County, admits that her nonprofit organization is among the best kept secrets around.

“Most people think that our in-school programs, the business conferences and our mock trial are put on by the school district,” Hitchcock said. “Most people don’t even know we exist.”

But the nonpartisan foundation is an open door for county youths to learn about civic duty and gives adults an opportunity to teach the values of right and wrong.

Since its inception in 1981, the foundation’s mission is to give teen-agers a “deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.” Students have worked alongside judges, attorneys and business executives in classrooms, courtrooms and conference rooms.

The civic-minded foundation holds the largest mock trial program in the state and the second largest in the nation. The mock trial program gives students the chance to work together as a team of attorneys arguing a case before a real judge in a real court of law. Attorney-coaches guide the teams through the complex sea of legal procedures and provide assistance in developing arguments and preparing briefs.

According to Hitchcock, each year the foundation organizes 1,400 students, 60 teachers, 250 attorneys, 44 superior and municipal court judges and a federal judge into a viable courtroom scenario where cases with issues ranging from civil rights to drunk driving are tried.

“We had a total of 13,000 volunteer hours donated to us by Orange County judges, attorneys and business executives last year,” she said. “The bulk of those hours were given during the mock trials.”

At the end of last year’s mock trial, Superior Court Judge Nancy Wieben Stock commended the students who played attorneys, noting that all of them “could replace many lawyers who appear in my courtroom.”

The Constitutional Rights Foundation also attracts individuals who want to help today’s youth succeed in the real world. The foundation also sponsors Law Day, a classroom speakers bureau, Youth Leadership for Action (a business internship program) and a teacher training program that uses law-related educational materials in high school social studies courses.

In a society that offers too many chances to do wrong, this little-known nonprofit agency has found a way of doing something very right.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday

Address: 660 Newport Center Drive, Suite 1350, Newport Beach

Telephone: (714) 720-3801

Miscellaneous information: Call for more information on upcoming events.