Greenwood and Elk County Attorney, Kansas
I am providing all of the Elementary students in the 2 counties with coloring books, and speaking at the schools over a 2-day period. I am talking with the schools about an art contest as well.
Russell County Bar Association, Virginia
We will partner with numerous local/specialty bars, the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid, and local law students to put on an exciting and engaging range of activities on May 2 (May 1 falling on Sunday this year), including: (1) our annual blood drive in four locations, (2) numerous free legal clinics, (3) our Law Day video to bring the Law Day theme home to students and other interested viewers, (4) free CLE relevant to this year's theme, open to the public, and (5) numerous on-site event speakers, including the President of our State Bar. We hope this broad range of activities and voices will enable us engage with the people of far Southwest Virginia to provide greater access to legal services and stress the importance of our Constitution and the Rule of Law in our day-to-day lives.
Youth Justice Alliance, Austin Bar Association, The University of Texas School of Law
Students from South Austin high schools came to UT Law where 1) local winners of the Law Day contests were recognized; 2) students participated in two classes of their choice with UT Law professors (students chose between contracts, entrepreneurship, environmental law, and immigration law); 3) students enjoyed lunch with local, state, and federal judges and justices, as well as law students; and 4) students learned from and asked questions of Anna Vasquez of the Innocence Project of Texas. Anna spent thirteen years in prison for a crime that never occurred, and was eventually exonerated. Through this program, students learned about the power of both lawyers and non-lawyers to create positive change by using the law, and left having met judges, justices, lawyers, and law students, while also participating in actual law classes. Students left with Youth Justice Alliance t-shirts and journals, as well as Law Day foam gavels.
Topeka Bar Association, Kansas
Law Day luncheon with Constitution discussion. Coloring contest for K-5th grades. Winners hosted for lunch and received gift card.
US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas, supported by the US District Court for the District of Kansas
“You are welcome in the federal Judiciary” is the message that Kansas federal courts shared with high school and college students during Law Day 2022. The interactive program celebrated and encouraged diversity in the legal profession, introduced students to careers available in the judiciary, and announced the inaugural “Judge Julie A. Robinson Award” to honor its namesake—an inspiring African-American woman, community leader, Bankruptcy Judge, and District Court Judge. Students attended in person or remotely via a live YouTube feed. Attendees served as jurors while a federal Magistrate Judge and the University of Missouri—Kansas City Mock Trial Team conducted a criminal trial. Then the student jurors voted in person or via a polling app. Afterward, students enthusiastically asked astute questions of four federal Bankruptcy Judges and District Judges and the US Attorney, then networked and posed for photographs with dignitaries and local attorneys who attended.
Nevada Center for Civic Engagement
Dr. David Tanenhaus (Law Professor at Boyd School of Law at UNLV) and author Dr. George Van Cleve (Making a New American Constitution) participated in our April 28th, 2022, Law Day Ask the Expert to talk about the need for a changing U.S. Constitution. While Professor Tanenhaus moderated, asking Dr. Van Cleve questions about the need for a changing U. S. Constitution, we invited in several high school students from Southwest Career & Technology Academy to ask their questions. According to their teacher Joseph Juliano, the students did not want the discussion to end. They stayed after their bell rang, to continue talking about the importance of elements of the U. S. Constitution. One of the positive elements of using vimeo is that all of our teachers from around the state can show it to their students at any time.
Suffolk Academy of Law, Suffolk County Bar Association, NY
In keeping with the Law Day theme, the program will be an insightful discussion on the intersection of Hamilton and the Law and Hamilton: An American Musical. Distinguished speakers include Lisa A. Tucker author and Associate Professor of Law, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, John Q. Barrett Professor of Law at St. John’s University School of Law, Rodger D. Citron Associate Dean and Professor of Law at Touro College, Robin Effron Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, Kent Moston, Director of Training, Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, and Kimberly Mutcherson, Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Our program focuses on Hamilton and the Law and authored essays. A panel discussion will conclude the program.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Judicial Learning Center in St. Louis
The U.S. Courts and the Judicial Learning Center in St. Louis launched an online version of the new Tinker v. Des Moines exhibit featuring the black armband worn Mary Beth Tinker to protest the Vietnam War. On May 5, 60 high school students came to the Eagleton Courthouse to experience the exhibit and participate in a moot court activity based on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. Using the Tinker case and other precedents, students were coached by judges and attorneys to play the roles of Justices, Petitioners, and Respondents. Cases were argued in the courtrooms of the Eighth Circuit. Prior to the field trip, students wrote essays identifying the Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that has made the biggest difference in people's lives. First and second place winners received gift cards from the Judicial Learning Center. Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel announced the winners on event day.
Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission of the New York State Courts
The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission of the New York State Courts, which has been dedicated for the last thirty years to promoting racial and ethnic fairness in the courts, hosted a virtual Law Day program highlighting this year’s theme and featuring a discussion with law students from New York area law schools and State judges. Additionally, the Commission’s Legal Fellows reflected on the Law Day theme’s application to their fellowship experience. The speakers emphasized that “we, the people” must work together to move our country toward a more perfect union and equal justice for all.
State Bar of Arizona
We had three initiatives.
(1) Produced a video story: Partnered with the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (heard views of a next generation lawyer)
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmpJYoF35W0
(2) Produced a video story: Partnered with Liberty Elementary School District (listened in as students discussed the Constitution)
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ZfmI8ZriE
(3) We also do regular monthly free legal clinics for the public staffed by volunteer attorneys. Our April event, a Law Day tie in, focused on family law, employment, wills & trusts, landlord/tenant, immigration, and bankruptcy. Twelve volunteer attorneys helped 87 members of the public.
Mobile Bar Association, Alabama
We conducted an Essay and Art Contest for grades K-12 in our county. Elementary school students were asked to create a piece of art that reflected how the Constitution has impacted his/her life or a family member’s life. Middle and high school students were asked to write an essay reflecting on the benefits and detriments of a constitution subject to change using current, historical, or personal events. Over 100 students participated, and 3 winners were selected in each category. The winners were recognized at a luncheon where their art and essays were displayed.
We held a Judicial Day Event at our local federal courthouse for all students who participated in our Law Day Essay and Art Contest. Students, their parents, and their teachers were invited to the courthouse to hear a panel of federal judges speak about the Constitution and the practice of law and to tour a federal courtroom.
White Plains Youth Bureau, New York
White Plains Youth Bureau Social Justice for Youth Program Community Youth Court Law Day 2022.
This year Law Day Theme was “Toward a More Perfect Union, the Constitution in Times of Change.” Youth Court members brought the Community together at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University on May 21, 2022, to learn, advocate and network about this year’s theme.
Guest speakers included our very own Mayor Thomas Roach, Youth Bureau Director, Frank Williams, Dean Horace Anderson from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and our Keynote Speaker Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah. Also in attendance was the District Director Joan Grangenois-Thomas, a representative from Congressman Mondaire Jones’s office.
Law Day 2022 featured the following breakout rooms (the Career Panel with some very important guest, the White Plains High School Principal Emerly Martinez, Common Council Member Nadine Hunt-Robinson, Stefanie Marvin, an Assistant County Attorney from the County Attorney’s Office, Detective Christina Brown from the White Plains PD and Michael Andrew Pabon, Jr, a recent Law School Graduate from Haub Law at Pace University.
The second breakout room was an Evidence Collection in which was youth focused and the Youth Court members invited the audience to participate in collecting evidence from a Mock Crime Scene and help in solving the crime. The third breakout room was a Mock Peer Mediation, which provided an alternative to suspension, by engaging a troubled youth into a binding agreement that would eliminate suspension if they participated in mediation and followed through with the signed agreement.
Youth Court members then advocated on Mental Health Awareness, by speaking on the importance of stopping the stigma. Lastly the Youth Court members put on a Mock Trial to showcase their knowledge and skills. About 100 attendees came out to see these amazing Youth Court members in action. This amazing Law Day 2022 event was organized by the White Plains Youth Bureau Youth Court Program Director, Connie Jones-Hairston. The Program Director said the event was a huge success.
Note: Youth Court is a positive peer group. The primary goal of Youth Court is to offer juveniles the opportunity to avoid the irreversible and disadvantageous nature of a permanent criminal record and instead get a second chance through the benefits the program offers: participation in community service, mental health counseling, and substance abuse and delinquency prevention education. Juveniles who go through Youth Court trials are also given a youth advocate and an adult mentor who provides support and guidance through the process.
The Youth Court had a 100% success rate last year, not one youth committed a further offense.
Gwinnett County Bar Association, Georgia
GCBA focused on community outreach. We volunteered, sponsored, and raised funds for Relay for Life for child warriors and in partnership with local law firms.
Our education campaign featured Zoom presentations to all Gwinnett County Schools middle and high school social studies teachers to discuss opportunities, resources, contests, and scholarships from the bar association. Award winning submissions were displayed at the GCBA events and we awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
GCBA partnered with local Girl Scouts to develop and implement a Justice Badge program where the scouts earned a badge for interviewing a lawyer and a judge, touring the county courthouse, reading about the constitutional, and creating a poster about a current law or a proposed law.
We hosted a catered luncheon in appreciation of our judges and staff, and the Law Day banquet and awards ceremony featured a keynote address by Justice Ellington of the Georgia Supreme court.
Judicial Council of Georgia and Administrative Office of the Courts, Georgia
We sponsored a Law Day Art Contest which was judged by the members of the Judicial Council of Georgia. Advertised on the web and social media and then we had local judges join the school's end of the year award ceremonies to help give awards to the children with remarks.
See:
https://twitter.com/GACourts/status/1524759151443914754
https://twitter.com/GACourts/status/1529550904260796417
https://twitter.com/GACourts/status/1529932402415620096
Arizona Superior Court in Pima County / Pima County Bar Association's Young Lawyer's Division
On Friday, April 22, 2022, more than 250 students from schools across Arizona participated in a virtual Law Day celebration led by the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County. Planning for the event commenced in December of 2021, with the court’s long-time Law Day judicial advisor, Hon. D. Douglas Metcalf, at the helm.
Dr. Barbara Norrander, a popular U.S. government professor at the University of Arizona, offered the keynote presentation, and the court’s presiding judge, Hon. Jeffrey Bergin, opened the event and welcomed the participants. Judge Metcalf himself brought the presentation to a close, following his address The Role of the Court in Upholding the Constitution During Times of Change.
The court welcomed a diverse audience, including pupils from the school in its juvenile detention center as well as honor students from a school 100 miles away.
The presentation is memorialized and available on the court’s website for all to enjoy: https://www.sc.pima.gov/services/public-and-media-relations/law-day/
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Ohio
We expanded Law Day into Law Week, marrying the CMBA's 21/22 theme: The Rule of Law. We invited Betsy Andersen, Executive Director of the World Justice Project to report on their latest global survey, followed by two local law professors, Dean Michel Scharf and Milena Sterio to discuss recent Ukraine updates. We also hosted a conversation with the American Constitution Society's president and former Wisconsin Senator, Russ Feingold, who came to Cleveland to talk about the state of the US Supreme Court. This robust discussion was moderated by CNN legal Contributor, Elliott Williams. At the end of the week, in partnership with the City Club of Cleveland, we hosted a discussion with Ret. Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, the first black woman appointed to the Court of Appeals in Ohio. The discussion was moderated by the first black woman elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, Justice Melody Stewart. Finally, throughout the week, we hosted in our space the ABA exhibit "Lawyers Without Rights."
502 Force Support Group Legal Office, Texas
The 502d Force Support Group Legal Office at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas celebrated Law Day 2022 with the largest joint military community in the Department of Defense and honored the legacy of 19 black soldiers who were executed in 1917 at Fort Sam Houston after receiving a conviction for race riot related charges. The Law Day celebration started with a mock court-martial presentation, followed by a discussion of the momentous inception of the military appellate review process that was sparked after the flawed Houston Riot Courts-martial. These soldiers were sentenced to death without attorney representation, almost all were hung within a day of conviction and without notice to their families. This event provided a time of reflection on the sweeping changes made to military law in the pursuit of fairness and measured administration of justice, and on the importance of vigilance over the legal principles we hold sacred.
American Bar Association Section of International Law
The Section of International Law participated in its first Law Day program on May 2 - 3, 2022 that tied in the 2022 Law Day Theme of "Towards a More Perfect Union". Conference participants enjoyed a rich mentoring and networking opportunity that was part of a roundtable discussion of U.S. immigration law with prominent immigration law experts. The venue was the New York office of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy – recognized as the 2022 “Law Firm of the Year” in immigration law.
The event included the reading of a proclamation from New York City Mayor Eric Adams that was read by ABA President-Elect Deborah Enix-Ross commemorating the event and celebration of Law Day. Middle school students from the Ella Baker Middle School in Manhattan, law students, and immigration law practitioners participated in this multifaceted and multigenerational examination of U.S. immigration in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Discussion leaders, included the Honorable Mimi Tsankov – a Federal immigration judge, the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, and a professor at the Fordham School of Law, Parisa Karaahmet, a Partner at Fragomen, Richard Towle, Deputy Director of UNCHR, and David Satnarine, Special Counsel for Immigrant Affairs at the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office facilitated the high level discussion. The event included a tour of the Fragomen Offices where everyone was educated on the important role and work that the law serves immigration that includes helping workers get Visas to work overseas and how important this is to the world economy in addition to other immigration matters.
The program then moved to the Museum at Eldridge Street in lower Manhattan. One of the oldest synagogues in New York that was built by Russian Jewish immigrants in 1887 served as the location for a private concert by Broadway Star Telly Leung who played Aladdin on Broadway for 2 years. The first day closed with a tour of the Tenement Museum where the group of lawyers, law students, and middle school students saw how turn of the century immigrants lived and the hardships they endured in their lives.
The second day included excursions to Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty which provided a cultural context for the conference. The group took a stand for Ukraine at the Statue of Liberty and held the Ukraine Flag at the base of Lady Liberty.
Quote from ABA President-Elect Deborah Enix Ross on the program:
"It was such an honor and privilege to participate in this extraordinary Law Day Program. I especially loved the involvement of the students, and I was deeply moved when the two female students of color asked if they could give me a hug when they said goodbye! I truly believe we have made an impact in the lives of all the students. Looking forward to next year’s event!!”
Submitted 6/30/22 by Angela Benson, American Bar Association
Black Law Students Association at Birmingham School of Law, Alabama
The Black Law Students Association at Birmingham School of Law hosted a dynamic three-day Law Day 2022 event consisting of multiple events that educated the public about the US Constitution, governmental powers, and individual rights.
All activities incorporated this year’s theme and engaged local schools and the community in an elevated dialogue about the constitution to increase awareness and understanding of responsible citizenship. The events consisted of:
1) A mock trial competition (elementary school students),
2) Essay/Art contests (high school students),
3) Legal trivia competition (students and alumni),
4) Professor panel discussion on the law, and
5) A rooftop social/mixer.
Judiciary of Guam, District Court of Guam, and Guam Bar Association
As the island eased restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the Guam Law Month Committee, comprised of representatives from the Judiciary of Guam, the District Court of Guam, and the Guam Bar Association was eager to plan and organize a host of events to promote and educate the public about the 2022 Law Day theme, “Toward a More Perfect Union: the Constitution in Times of Change.”
To kick off our events, Guam’s Governor declared Law Month and Law Day highlighting the theme and reminding thousands of citizens to join in the celebration. This year’s program included the return of traditional events and some new events. Hundreds participated in the events like the traditional art, coloring, and essay contests, “Race Judicata” 5K Run/Walk/Roll, fairy-tale mock trials, outreach argument, physical fitness activities, Constitutional lecture, and planting event. In our packet, you will see how Guam celebrated Law Day and Law Month.
Monmouth Bar Association, Monmouth Vicinage - Superior Court of New Jersey, New Jersey State Bar Foundation (IOLTA Fund), and New Jersey State Bar Association Speaker's Bureau
Law Day Ceremony. Held with Eugenia Lynch, Esq. speaking on Law Day Theme. Ceremony included Bar members, public, students, and judges. Also, student winners of Law Day contest were acknowledged. 150 attended. Program and photos can be provided upon request. All students attending received copy pocket constitution. Photo hyperlink is below.
Art, Essay, Poetry Contest on Law Day Theme. All schools were offered educational prompts on law day theme and given prompts for creative contest submissions. Schools were also offered incentives for participation (free pencils, pens) for submission of class projects. Winners were acknowledged at a ceremony but non winning entries received consolation prizes of ABA giveaways. Links for solicitations and prompts, all entries by grade, and all winning entries are below in hyperlinks.
"The Great Constitution Giveaway!" Constitutions and other Law Day items were given to any teacher who could demonstrate that they had completed a law day classroom activity from the Virtual Symposium website or another classroom activity that focused on our "living" constitution. We know that 567 students did in school activities on the Law day theme using our online materials - all were given pocket constitutions by mail. Also, 170 constitutions were given away on site at courthouse to student groups that visited the courthouse in May and June 2022 and during the Naturalization Ceremony. Visitors received information on Law Day and the Constitution during these on site events. These requests came in from 13 different districts/schools. In total 737 Constitutions were given away and we have more on site that we plan to distribute at summer outreach events. Law Day Art and Poetry Exhibit at Monmouth County Library Headquarters.
All entries in the categories of art were displayed, and all winning entries of poetry were displayed for 60 days at Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan NJ. The library estimates that there are approx. 10,000 visits to the Headquarters location each month and we estimate that many visitors to the main lobby exhibit.
Naturalization Ceremony on June 14, 2022 US Naturalization Ceremony was held on Lawn with USCIS, A student from Howell School District (Middle School North) recited the preamble to the constitution. Remarks from Trial Court Admin. focused on Law Day Theme. 120 people attended and all received pocket constitutions, including all new citizens who took oath to uphold US Constitution.
Virtual Law Day Symposium Professor Danaya Wright of Univ. of FL School of Law (Levin College of Law) created an indexed annotated video on the ERA and it dissects "How to Amend the Constitution 101." The video discussed detailed issues of how proposing an amendment, ratification, rescinding ratification, publication and certification of an amendment etc. Offered a series of online lesson materials to teachers. These were sent as an email blast to all private and parochial schools and all public schools. Emails encouraging participation sent to schools by Monmouth County Board of Education and Exec. Superintendent and by the NJ Dept of Education Office of Non Public Schools. These partners promoted both the contest and the participation in viewing an online educational program. They also encouraged teachers to participate in Constitution giveaway. These activities were also promoted on Law Day website. Also included, were videos from Chief Justice Rabner of the NJ Supreme Court and online lesson plans from third party websites. Lesson plans included lessons related to the creative contest.