Alaska Court System Contact: Stephanie Cole, Administrative Director Alaska Court System 303 K Street Anchorage, AK 99501 E-mail: scole@courts.state.ak.us Website: www.alaska.net/~akctlib/homepage.htm Law Day 2000: Judges Reach Out to Schools Activity Summary: In 2000, for the second consecutive year, the Alaska Supreme Court approved a statewide effort to have all judicial officers participate on Law Day. Each judge and magistrate who participated either invited school children to come to the courtroom for a mock trial or presentation or traveled to a school or classroom to speak. This project is one way to effectively communicate the important role that judges play in our justice system. Each presiding judge and area court administrator worked with the local school district to coordinate the program. Activity Narrative: Prior to 1999, Law Day activities were only conducted on a localized and occasional basis in Alaska. Although a few judges and some other individuals conducted Law Day programs for local schools, there was no organized, consistent effort throughout the state. In 1999, the Alaska Supreme Court initiated a trial project to encourage all of Alaska’s state judicial officers to participate in Law Day 1999. The project, which was coordinated by Justice Dana Fabe, asked judges and magistrates to clear their court calendars on the morning of April 30 (since May 1 was a Saturday) to participate in a school program for Law Day. Based upon the success of the pilot project in 1999, in 2000 the Alaska Supreme Court directed all state judicial officers (judges, magistrates and masters) throughout the state to clear court calendars. The judicial officers were asked to either invite school children to come to the courtroom for a mock trial or presentation or travel to a school or classroom to speak on May 1. Court system staff compiled and made available materials that could be used for presentations. Each district’s presiding judge and local court administrator were asked to coordinate with local school districts. In April 2000, a one-day Community Outreach Workshop in Anchorage was offered to judges who wanted to develop skills for school presentations and other community outreach activities. This workshop included the demonstration of a mock trial with a class from a nearby elementary school, and provided judges with a script and other materials for conducting the mock trial and other activities. The administrative office of the court collected information about scheduled activities for the supreme court’s review. On or about Law Day 2000, 76 judges, magistrates and masters (representing approximately 84% of the total state judicial officers) in 30 communities participated in presentations to over 3200 school children and members of the general public. This project had the following benefits: The statewide effort provided a bridge to school children and members of the general public throughout Alaska. Judicial officers provided information about the court, the justice system and the rule of law in a variety of forums, expanding public awareness. Presentations reflected Alaska’s varied ethnic and cultural environments. In smaller communities, the presentations often reflected the local justice practice and culture. For example, Kake Magistrate Mike Jackson demonstrated circle sentencing, a sentencing technique that incorporates Alaska Native justice traditions, to local high school students. The outreach effort touched over 3200 persons in 30 communities throughout Alaska, from the largest city of Anchorage (population 260,000), to smaller and remote communities like Barrow (the most northern community in North America , population 4400), Unalakleet (population 784, on the coast of Norton Sound, near Nome), and Craig (population 2145, in the southeastern panhandle” area of Alaska). School district personnel were enthusiastic about the 1999 pilot project, and excited that the program continued in 2000. In the Anchorage school district (the largest in Alaska), district personnel submitted a long list of schools and classes requesting judicial speakers for the 2000 program. The approach was innovative in that it was a statewide organization effort coordinated by Alaska’s highest court, which placed an emphasis and priority on widespread judicial participation. Based upon the success of the 1999 and 2000 efforts, the Supreme Court plans to continue this program in future years. It will become an ongoing part of the court’s community outreach and law-related educational activities. The Alaska program is simple in concept, yet it demonstrates the effectiveness of a state court endorsement at the highest level of the importance of the goals of Law Day, and a willingness to commit judicial resources to achieve these goals. More about this program Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization