Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, October 2003 (Vol. 32, No. 2). All rights reserved.

ABA Seeks Law Students to Lead Discussions With the Public

by Kenneth Gorton

The ABA National Issues Forum offers a way for law students and others to lead public discussions on how the justice system can work as fairly as possible. The program's title says it best: "… And Justice for All: Ensuring Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System."

Ellen Eardley, a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, moderated a forum for students at Cincinnati's Aiken High School last spring. "I really think law students should do this," she says. "Having a chance to talk with people like this, to understand their lives and backgrounds, is a wonderful opportunity for a future lawyer."

Eardley says her forum responded to the racial tensions and recent riots in Cincinnati. "The overwhelming majority of the students were African-American," she explains. "I was initially saddened by some of the stories I heard, and how some of the students believe there's nothing they can do about the justice system. . . . Almost every student had some experience to share about being discriminated against by police officers. It was very revealing."

Eardley says she was particularly moved when one student, whose father is a police officer, said that not all police are bad and that they help serve the justice system. "By the end, students got to share painful experiences about their own lives," she says. "If the only thing the forum did was provide the students with a chance to talk and learn from each other, it was still a great success."

"This program is still in its infancy," says Paula Nessel, staff director for the ABA Coalition for Justice, which runs the forums. "But we've been successful at getting many people-including law students-to grab this program and run with it."

Nessel explains that the forums usually are small discussion groups, headed by a moderator, that watch a short video to stimulate conversation. The discussions tend to last about two hours and involve members of the local community.

Eardley and Nessel say it's easy to become a moderator and conduct your own forum. Most of the materials appear on the ABA web site, and the video can be obtained by contacting the Coalition for Justice office. "Law students should be encouraged to become moderators," Nessel says. "This is a great way to help people in the community discuss and understand the justice system."

Participants should know that policy-makers will eventually hear their views about the justice system. "We plan to compile a final report [about the forums] that will be shared with bar associations, courts, and policy makers across the country," Nessel says. "This is a way people in the community can share their ideas and really make a difference."

For further information, visit www.abanet.org/justice/nif or e-mail paulanessel@staff. abanet.org.

Kenneth Gorton, a 2L at Pepperdine University School of Law, is Student Lawyer's student editor.