Nevada Law Day 2011

On LAW DAY LIVE

Through Twitter and Facebook

May 5 Interactive Internet Forum on Supreme Court Website Explores the Importance of Access to Justice

Nevada’s Internet interactive forum will not only bring alive the importance of American justice for high school students, but will allow them to participate.

The forum is scheduled to be simulcast in three courtrooms in urban and rural counties across Nevada on May 5 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and will launch of several days of Law Day events.

The 2011 Law Day theme is The Legacy of John Adams – from Boston to Guantanamo. Information is available on the Supreme Court website at http://lawday.nevadajudiciary.us/ Students across the state are encouraged to tweet their thoughts about Law Day Live by following @JohnAdamsNV on Twitter, adding the hashtag #LawDayLive to Twitter messages on May 5 during Law Day Live and by commenting on the John Adams in Nevada Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/JohnAdamsNV. Many teachers are offering students extra credit for participating on these social media sites.

Students have been invited to participate live on May 5 by offering comments on Twitter and Facebook or posing questions in person at the three Law Day Live locations:

Panels at each location will include judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement.  Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta will moderate Law Day Live from Las Vegas.  Justice James Hardesty will be the moderator at the Supreme Court courtroom in Carson City.  District Judge Michael Montero will lead the panel in Winnemucca.

Students from area schools are expected to attend in person, and students throughout the state will be watching the event live on the Supreme Court website.

Law Day Live will focus on the legacy John Adams, the second president who was a staunch advocate of the principles that this nation is governed by the rule of law and persons accused under the law are entitled to a legal defense. He defended British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, a controversial decision at the time. Similar principles are at issue today involving the detainees being held Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

The Nevada Supreme Court is spearheading the statewide celebration of Law Day in partnership with the schools across the state, the State Bar of Nevada, the Second, Sixth, and Eighth Judicial District Courts, other courts across the state, prosecution and public defender offices, and law enforcement. Students participated in poster and essay contests with cash and other prizes for the winners. The contests are sponsored by the Young Lawyer Section of the State Bar of Nevada.

Law Day Live is an annual event held to offer insight to students on the importance of American justice. For more information on the contests or Law Day Live visit http://lawday.nevadajudiciary.us/.