The students from West End School and the Law and Government program at Central High School attended the ABA Civic Youth Outreach Program. The judges were given tours of the schools, where they saw a wonderful school library, beautiful artwork on the walls, a music room with violins, and other instruments. They met with the students, in small groups, to analyze the Bill of Rights and to determine which of the top three of the ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution they would keep. There was robust discussion and enthusiasm on the part of the students and the judges. At the end of the session, the principal selected a person from each group to report on their conclusions.
Judge Diana Song Quiroga, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Texas chairs the Standing Committee on Diversity in the Judiciary. Colonel Linda Strite Murnane, Justice of the High Court for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and former Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission of Human Rights Commission, led the Civic Youth Outreach planning sub-committee. Judge Shelbonnie Coleman-Hall, Judge of the Mobile Municipal Court in Mobile, Alabama, and former Chair of the ABA Judicial Division, National Conference of Specialized Courts, coordinated the morning program at Central High School. Judge Lorraine Lee, former Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings, organized the afternoon outreach program at West End School.
ABA Judicial Division judges who engaged with the youth helped to cultivate in them a greater interest in education, civics, and the field of law. The energy, enthusiasm, and active participation from the students, coupled with the support from the school principals and teachers, helped to make this year’s youth outreach program a success and memorable experience for all.