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“Advancing the Rule of Law, Now!” Law Day 2021
Since the late 1970s, the Delaware County Bar Association, along with the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas bench, has proudly sponsored the annual Law Day programming at the 1724 Chester Court House. Law Day this year offered a meaningful and topical opportunity for students in a challenged school district to participate in programming based on this year’s ABA Law Day theme, “Advancing the Rule of Law, Now.”
The Chester Court House has been the venue for significant historical events. On July 8, 1776, the Court House bell was rung to summon the local citizens as witnesses to the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. For a number of years, the hallmark of the Chester Law Day Program has been a presentation by local school students followed by their opportunity to ring Delaware County’s own “Liberty Bell.” This year, to accommodate the pandemic, the program was presented virtually, on May 20, 2021, with an eye toward incorporating as many of the traditional live elements as possible.
Find a link to the video record of the Program here: https://vimeo.com/553340937 password: arl2021
Welcoming remarks were offered by David E. Robbins, Esquire, Chester Law Day Program Chair, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Karen E. Friel, Esquire, 2021 DCBA President. The local sixth grade student presenters were trained by Widener University Delaware Law School “Chadwick Fellows” Katie Costa and Devon Potts, to argue a Moot Court case argument before the Honorable Richard Lowe, dealing with the issue of student speech and limitations imposed by school administration. The virtual program attracted over 120 attendees.
The argument invoked issues of school speech and its limits. The training involved not only the student presenters but their entire classroom, all of whom are participants in a Youth Court educational curriculum. Lessons learned in the process reportedly increased the students’ appreciation for education and their comprehension of the Rule of Law. The currency of the issue was emphasized by the then-pending decision in the United States Supreme Court, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Additionally, many students in other classrooms benefitted from their peers’ virtual presentation.
The Delaware County Bar Association was fortunate to also have Mary Beth Tinker, the plaintiff in the landmark SCOTUS case that originally set the parameters of school limits on student speech, as a Program participant. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Comm. School Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969). She not only participated during the Program, but made herself available to the student presenters during a practice session. Her involvement offered a sense of history to the students’ understanding of the legal process from the perspective of a litigant.
The program also featured several vocal selections by Carolyn Hilton Finney, Shiloh Baptist Church, and a “virtual” ringing of the 1724 Courthouse Bell which was also tolled on July 8, 1776, to summon local inhabitants to the market square for a first reading of the Declaration of Independence in Delaware County.
Jean Arnold, a Chester resident, former teacher in the Chester Upland School District, and advocate for fair education opportunities, offered feedback on the Program and the associated Youth Court curriculum: “Mrs. Weatherly, her class and others, have done an outstanding job (again) demonstrating the effect of Youth Court. Years ago, my Gates scholars wrote about Youth Court in their essays crediting it with the change and opportunities it afforded them, and we see it in action in this [Law Day] Program for these students at Stetser [Elementary School]. Thinking, writing, speaking, cooperation, self-esteem, problem solving, activism and much more converge in this activity. Youth Court is one of those classes that transforms; what is taught becomes life. We move from the cognitive domain to the affective domain which is a goal in education. It should be a staple in every school alongside of reading and mathematics.”
Further, David Keller Trevaskis, Esquire, Pro Bono Coordinator, Legal Services, Pennsylvania Bar Association, remarked, “Programs such as these not only provide incredible educational experiences but, in targeting the poorest of our students and schools, offer a significant form of pro bono service in improving the overall administration of justice. The Law Day work of the Delaware County Bar Association and the local Bench stands out for its ongoing commitment and brilliant execution of the importance of teaching about the Rule of Law.”
Thank you and a Special Recognition to The Trustees of the E. Wallace Chadwick Foundation whose financial commitment to the Constitution Works Program supports the annual Chester Law Day Program.
The assistance of the following is gratefully
acknowledged: Parents of the Participants; Chester Upland School District, Dr. Carol Birks, Superintendent; Dr. Juan R. Baughn, Receiver; Dr. Lavada D. Greene, Principal Stetser Elementary School; Morgan Weatherly, 6th Grade Teacher; Gregg L. Volz, Esquire.
Widener University Delaware Law School Chadwick Fellowship Committee members Maryann Brown, Esquire; Francis J. Catania, Jr., Esquire; Alice Eakin, Esquire; Kathleen M. Turezyn, Esquire.
Video provided by Ron Adelberg, Level A Productions, West Chester, PA, Technical assistance Bob Melso, Laser Supply Inc., Springfield, PA.
A Look Ahead at Law Day 2022 …
The 2022 Law Day theme is “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change.” “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” are the opening words of the U.S. Constitution. At 4,400 words and signed in 1787, it is one of the shortest and oldest written constitutions in the world.
The Constitution is a dynamic document, as it not only outlines a blueprint for government, but also delegates power, articulates rights, and offers mechanisms for change. It is neither perfect, nor exhaustive, as our nation’s history makes clear. Legislation, court rulings, amendments, lawyers, and “we the people” have built upon those original words across generations to attempt to make the “more perfect Union” more real. That effort continues today, as contemporary leaders and everyday citizens raise their voices as loud as ever to fulfill the promise of the Constitution. Defining and refining those words of the Constitution might be our oldest national tradition, and how each of us works—together—toward a more perfect Union. •
