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View Winners → United States Bankruptcy Court to welcome students for Law Day Celebration
Arcadia Weekly May 15, 2014
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On May 20, 2014, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California will host a Law Day celebration for local high school students. The celebration will be held at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles.
Law Day 2014’s theme is “American Democracy and the Rule of Law: Why Every Vote Matters.” The Central District’s Law Day celebration will include a mock trial, a “Power Lunch” featuring guest speaker Loyola Law School Professor Laurie L. Levenson, and presentations focusing on financial literacy and employment opportunities in the federal government.
Approximately 80 high school students from Junior State of America (JSA) will be participating in the Law Day celebration. JSA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages high school students interested in politics, government, foreign affairs, the law, and education, to become active and informed citizens.
The Bankruptcy Court’s Community Outreach Committee, chaired by Bankruptcy Judge Sandra R. Klein, organized the daylong Law Day celebration. Collaborating in the event are the U.S. District Court and the offices of the U.S. Attorney, Federal Public Defender, U.S. Trustee, U.S. Pretrial Services, U.S. Probation, U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Protective Service.
During the Power Lunch, students will share lunch and discuss the law and legal profession with judges, lawyers and other professionals. Professor Levenson, who holds the David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy and is the Director of the Center for Legal Advocacy at Loyola Law School, will talk about the criminal justice system, including some high profile criminal cases and her recent work in exonerating Kash Delano Register of Los Angeles, who was released last November after spending 34 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez and Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne H. Segal will preside over mock trials involving a texting while driving criminal case. Attorneys from the Los Angeles offices of the U.S. Attorney and Federal Public Defender will serve as volunteer coaches for the mock trial student participants. Bankruptcy Judges Sandra R. Klein and Maureen A. Tighe will present the CARE program, which utilizes video and audio clips to highlight the importance of budgeting, saving and investing, the responsible use of credit and debit cards, student loans, and other fundamentals of financial literacy. Employees from local federal agencies will conclude the Law Day celebration with a discussion about public service. They will describe the requirements of their careers and relate personal experiences and challenges they faced in obtaining their positions.
The mock trials, which will begin at 9:00 a.m., will be held in Courtrooms 1568 and 1575. The CARE presentations will also be held in those courtrooms. Beginning at 12:00 noon, the Power Lunch and Jobs Panel will be held in Conference Room 283. Media coverage is welcome and use of still and video cameras is allowed with advance approval. Contact Clerk of Court Kathleen J. Campbell for more information.
Law Day was originally conceived in 1957 by American Bar Association President Charles Rhynes as a day to mark our country’s commitment to the rule of law. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958 and Congress issued a joint resolution in 1961 making May 1 the official Law Day.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California is the largest bankruptcy court in the nation, with 24 active judges serving a population of approximately 19 million people in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Orange and Ventura Counties. For more information about the Court, please visit www.cacb.uscourts.gov.
