In recognition of Law Day 2012, the Supreme Judicial Court will host 90 public high school students from Boston, Revere, and Somerville who will participate in educational activities to celebrate the American legal system. This year’s national theme is “No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom.”
The program begins with a theatrical production, “Uprising on King Street,” performed by Theatre Espresso concerning the events that led to the Boston Massacre and a recreation of the trial of Captain Thomas Preston, a British officer who was defended in court by Founding Father John Adams. Other highlights of Law Day feature a 30-minute conversation with an SJC Justice, and an exploration of current legal topics led by lawyers from the SJC Law Clerk Society.
Supreme Judicial Court Justices Ralph D. Gants and Barbara A. Lenk will each discuss the role of the appellate courts to different groups and will answer questions from the students about the judicial system.
The attorneys, who are former law clerks of the Supreme Judicial Court, will have a dialogue with the students in small groups to emphasize the role of lawyers in defending individuals’ rights and the importance of the rule of law.
Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 as a day to recognize the principles of government under the law and the nation’s rich heritage of liberty and justice. Celebrations commemorating Law Day take place every May in courthouses throughout Massachusetts and the United States.
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