COURTS
CELEBRATE LAW DAY BY HOSTING
MANY EVENTS
AT COURTHOUSES THROUGHOUT MASSACHUSETTS
Courts
throughout Massachusetts, several in partnership with local
bar associations, conducted dozens of events in celebration
of Law Day on May 1. Ceremonies included participation
by judges, court staff, attorneys, students of all ages
and their teachers, state and local officials, law enforcement
personnel, and local residents. Many of the ceremonies
also featured the presenting of awards to community leaders
and the awarding of prizes to students for their participation
in essay and poster contests conducted under the theme
selected by the American Bar Association, “To Win
Equality by Law: Brown v. Board at 50, 1954 – 2004.”
The
following is a brief summary of only some of the Law Day
activities held in courts throughout Massachusetts. If
you would like your court's events included in the summary,
please notify Bruce Brock or Joan Kenney at the Supreme
Judicial Court Public Information Office.
Chief
Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan
spoke to students from Lynn English and St. Mary’s
High School at the Lynn Session of the Essex County Juvenile
Court on April 30. Other court and community leaders
at the Law Day ceremony included Lynn District Court
Presiding Justice Joseph I. Dever, Essex County Juvenile
Court Judge Michael F. Edgerton, Lynn Mayor Edward J.
Clancy, Jr., Essex County District Attorney Jonathan
W. Blodgett, and State Senator Thomas M. McGee.
The
Lawrence Session of the Essex County Juvenile Court also
celebrated Law Day on April 30, which featured remarks
by Essex County Juvenile Court Judge Jose Sanchez and
Judge Mark Newman, Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan, and
Lawrence Superintendent of Schools Wilfredo Laboy.
The
two Essex County Juvenile Court events were organized
by Judge Edgerton, Judge Newman, Judge Sanchez, Middlesex
County Juvenile Court Judge Amy L. Nechtem, Essex County
Juvenile Court Chief Probation Officer Daniel J. Passacantilli,
Assistant Chief Probation Officers Jay Fraher and Richard
Kelley, Clerk-Magistrate Judith M. Brennan, First Assistant
Clerk Thomas Linnehan, Assistant Clerk-Magistrate Elizabeth
M. Clancy, Probation Officers Felipe Romero and Marta
Mendoza, and Youth Coordinator Kerry Fenlon.
Supreme
Judicial Court Justice Robert J. Cordy served as the
keynote speaker at the Worcester County Bar Association’s
Law Day luncheon on April 30. Law Day events included
a mock trial, presided over by Superior Court Judge Peter
W. Agnes, in which sixty high school students participated
as witnesses, defendants and jurors. Justice Cordy also
administered the oath of office to Worcester Superior
Court First Assistant Clerk Corinne L. Gorman.
Presiding
Justice R. Peter Anderson spoke about the importance
of Brown v. Board of Education at the 20th annual
Law Day celebration at the Brighton Division of the Boston
Municipal Court on April 30. Awards were presented to
thirty-six students from Brighton-area schools for their
winning entries in the Court’s poster and essay
contests, followed by the Court’s traditional outdoor
barbecue, a demonstration by the Boston Police Department
K-9 Unit, and music provided by a disk jockey.
See
photos from Brighton
The
Hingham District Court held its annual Law Day celebration
on May 3, which featured a speech by Attorney Joseph Linehan
and special guests Michael J. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for
Massachusetts, and Timothy J. Cruz, Plymouth County District
Attorney.
The
Bar Association of Norfolk County presented its Amicus
Curie Award to Stoughton District Court Head Administrative
Assistant Linda Siegel at the Law Day celebration at Norfolk
Superior Court in Dedham on May 3.
The
Lynn District Court hosted its sixteenth annual Law Day
celebration on the evening of May 4, hosted by Presiding
Justice Joseph I. Dever and Judge Michael C. Lauranzano.
State Senator Thomas M. McGee served as guest speaker during
the ceremony, which also recognized local students who
participated in mo
First
Justice Sarah B. Singer and Clerk-Magistrate Brian Kearney
hosted approximately sixty high school students and other
special guests at the Natick District Court Law Day celebration
on May 5. Special guests included State Senator Scott P.
Brown, State Representative David P. Linsky, State Representative
Alice H. Peisch, and Natick Chief of Police Denni
Ipswich
District Court First Justice Allen G. Swan and the Ipswich
Bar Association hosted local school students and residents
on May 6 for a Law Day observance that focused on the importance
of the Brown v. Board of Education decision fifty years
ago.
Quincy
District Court celebrated Law Day on May 6, with festivities
organized by Clerk-Magistrate Arthur Tobin, First Assistant
Clerk Robert Bloom, Office Manager Ellen Battista-Lerro,
and Judicial Secretaries Jeong Son Lee and Alice Paccioretti.
Following the presentation of distinguished service awards
to law enforcement officers and community leaders, First
Justice Mark S. Coven gave brief remarks and introduced
keynote speaker Hubie Jones, former Dean of Boston University
School
More
than 150 students from West Roxbury schools attended the
Law Day celebration at West Roxbury Division of the Boston
Municipal Court on May 7. Festivities included speeches
by Kendall Cross, who won a gold medal in wrestling at
the 1996 Olympic Games, Frederick Douglas, played by actor
Naheem Allah, and a surprise appearance by Boston Red Sox
pitcher Bronson Arroyo. First Justice Kathleen Coffey and
Judge Robert C. Rufo also presented the Diane Halperin
Memorial Award to Ricardo Quiroga, the Chief Executive
Officer of the community agency Casa Esperanza, as well
as medals to the student winners of the Court’s essay
and poster contests.
See
photos from West Roxbury
Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall was the
keynote speaker for Hampshire County Law Day, held at the
Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton on May 12. Festivities
also included a guided tour of the Probate and Family Court,
a mock trial by Hopkins Academy students, observation of
court proceedings, and a panel discussion of Brown vs.
Board of Education by scholars from Smith College and the
University of Massachusetts.
See photos and press release
Supreme
Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney officiated at a
naturalization ceremony at Hampden Superior Court on May
18 in Springfield. Law Day observances also included an
educational event for schoolchildren about Brown v. Board,
hosted by the Massachusetts Judges Conference and the Hampden
County Bar Association at the Western Housing Court in
Springfield. The day also included a special sitting of
the Appeals Court at the Housing Court.
