Gulluni visits school for Adopt-A-Class Program

Oct. 17, 2018 | Jordan Houston
jordan@thereminder.com

Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni adopted the Agawam Junior High School 8th grade class as part of his Adopt-a-Class program for the 2018-2019 school year.
Reminder Publishing photo by Jordan Houston

AGAWAM – Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni visited the Agawam Junior High School 8th grade class to talk about his profession and the importance of understanding the criminal justice system.

On Oct. 11, around 250 students filed into the Agawam Junior High School auditorium to listen to the district attorney talk about the justice system, making smart choices and good citizenship as a path to success. Gulluni’s visit kick-started his Adopt-a-Class program, which seeks to provide support for 8th grade students as they begin their transitional year into high school. The district attorney chose to adopt the Agawam Junior High 8th grade class as one of his participants for the 2018-2019 school year.

Gulluni opened the program by asking the students if they know what a district attorney is.

“Fundamentally, my job is public safety,” he explained. “I’m the chief law enforcement officer in the county. If you do something and commit a crime, you’re ultimately going to come into my system.”

The district attorney is an elected or appointed public official of a county or designated district whose duties are governed by state law, he told the students. Generally, the duties of a district attorney are to manage the prosecutor's office, investigate alleged crimes in cooperation with law enforcement and file criminal charges or bringing evidence before the Grand Jury.

“I also get to do stuff with young people, help people make better choices and talk about really important issues like things around the law, substance abuse, internet safety, bullying, distracted driving and all of these things that are going to confront as you get older,” he continued.

After he detailed his job description, he touched on the juvenile court system and the importance of making good choices early on.

Gulluni informed the students that the decisions they make in high school could affect or alter the course of their futures.

“What you’re going to learn as you understand more about the criminal justice and legal system is what choices are all about – because as you go into high school, you’re going to have to make some tough and important choices,” he said. “We have a juvenile court system that works with young people who do some not-so-smart things and who break the law. I don’t think any one of you is ever going to be in that position, you’re all great kids, but you have to understand that these choices you make – whether it’s a confrontation with another student, something at night when you’re hanging out with your friends, or something with social media – your decisions have consequences, especially as you start to get older.”

Gulluni told the students that “nobody is perfect,” but what matters is how a person recovers from their mistakes. He said he wants to introduce the students to their “self-responsibility.”

The district attorney then spoke briefly about his background. Gulluni took office as the Hampden County District Attorney back in January 2015 at only 33-years-old, he said. He is a life-long Springfield resident and has previous work experience as an assistant district attorney and in the City of Springfield Law Department.

Gulluni later gave the students an opportunity to ask questions. Hands across the auditorium shot up in the air.

One student asked Gulluni what happens when someone “breaks the law by accident.” Gulluni explained that ignorance of the law is no excuse.

“If you break the law, you’re going to deal with the consequences, but in my system, we work with people who make mistakes and we judge those situations,” he said. “If someone truly made a mistake and had a bad moment, or it was some sort of accident, we consider that and try to give that person some sort of break. A large part of our criminal justice system is not about punishment, a lot of it is about how we can help people get over a problem they’re having.”

Another student asked what the age requirement is to become a district attorney.

Gulluni explained there is no minimum age, unlike the situation with the president of the United States, but the person has to be a lawyer first.

“Typically, you don’t get through law school until your mid-20s, so you’ll be about 26 or 27 by then,” he said. “I don’t want to toot my own horn here, but I’m pretty sure I was the youngest district attorney ever elected to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It’s a big responsibility. The seat was open, and at 33-years-old I decided to give it a shot and take my destiny into my own hands. I ran, and here I am today, and I’m really proud of the work we’ve done.”

Every year the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office adopts 8th grade classes at the beginning of the school year. The program includes the initial kick-off visit with the District Attorney along with the distribution of the office’s donation of school supplies, a return visit to provide a lesson in civics and participation in a trial reenactment. The program concludes later in the school year with participating classes spending half of a day touring the Hampden County Hall of Justice as an invited guest of the District Attorney.

In addition to the tour, guest speakers provide insight on the different offices that make up the criminal justice system inside the courthouse, as well as, showcasing career opportunities. The program is now in its fourth year.

“We want to have an open line of communication with our young people in this county, it’s really important to us. Obviously, our young people are going to become our adults and I think, in part, young people are faced with so many challenges in this day and age – from substance abuse, to bullying, to everything that comes with social media – so this is just one piece of what we do with young people around the county,” Gulluni told Reminder Publishing.

“This is a lot of fun because we talk to them about careers, about the criminal justice system, about what we do, about the Constitution and about the law. It’s important they know who we are and what we do and they respect it, so that when we come to them with more serious messages – it’s not a new face and our message resonates,” he continued.

Gulluni is also set to adopt an 8th grade class at South Middle School in Westfield.

Share this: