On Tuesday, September 17, students in the legal shadowing program at Padua Academy were given the opportunity to speak to The Honorable Andrea L. Rocanelli. As a previous Mock Trial coach for the Padua team, Judge Rocanelli is always eager to come to Padua to share her knowledge with students interested in the legal field. She was appointed by former Delaware Governor, Jack Markell, to be on the Delaware Superior Court for a 12 year term as Superior Judge of the Mental Health Court.

     Judge Rocanelli provides help to patients with mental illnesses, trying keep them out of the mainstream jail system through her work. She sees over both civil and criminal cases, rotating each quarter, and says that her job “is complicated, difficult, and sometimes exhausting.” She tells students that in front of a court, “You want to go in with an open-mind to really listen to the evidence given to you.”

     Giving advice to students that may be interested in law, Judge Rocanelli tells students about the importance of writing in this field: “If you can be critical without being harsh, that is excellent writing.” She later went on to talk about undergraduate courses and law school, mentioning that a liberal arts education is sometimes better than taking law courses in your undergraduate years; “law schools want people who can read, write, and are diverse.”

     Students asked Judge Rocanelli a multitude of questions ranging from things such as what her favorite part of her job is to how she can handle the cases she is given. When asked about the portrayal of judges on television shows compared to what it is really like, Padua senior Devon Becker was a strong advocated in support of Judge Rocanelli, saying, “She does everything that she can to help. She is nothing like what you see on TV, you can tell that she really cares about her cases and tries to do everything she can to make the best decisions for both the defendant and the community.” Devon got the opportunity to shadow Judge Rocanelli through the legal shadowing program last year, and is excited to see where the program takes her this year.