The Heschel School

Heschel’s Moot Beit Din team placed 3rd at this year's Maimonides Moot Court Competition in the most textually-advanced division (Abella Division). In the Fall, the teams were asked if, and how, college applicants should be required to disclose information about their disciplinary and/or criminal records on their university applications? Our team was provided with a source packet of rabbinic legal texts, spanning centuries, largely focused on the Jewish value of teshuva (repentance). Before presenting their arguments orally at the competition and answering questions from the judges, our team spent many weeks carefully crafting a written brief explaining their ruling. Ultimately, our team argued that, in order to protect their communities, while keeping in mind the value of teshuva, human dignity, and the inequities in the criminal justice system, colleges should require applicants to disclose their criminal records, only if they have committed three or more crimes, or have committed an act of physical assault or murder. Additionally, where such a disclosure is required, the applicant must be afforded the opportunity to submit an official explanation of the circumstances behind their crimes. This explanation could take the form of a traditional essay, video, poem, or whatever medium will best allow applicants to accurately and truthfully express themselves and present their perspective.