Office of the Judge Advocate, Camp Lejeune, NC Contact: Beverly Schock Office of the Staff Judge Advocate P.O.Box 20004, Camp Lejeune, NC 28542 Activity Summary: The Office of Staff Judge Advocate provides legal advice to a client base totaling 150,000 active duty, dependents, and retirees on all aspects of the law. To "celebrate our freedom" OSJA in conjunction with the Onslow County Bar, in an historic first, co-sponsored Law Day activities reaching all of Onslow County. May 1 kick off with the Law Day proclamation. May 2 Onslow County Attorney golf tournament for "Hackers" To reach a wide audience, conducted a 3 hour radio call-in show on Freedom. May 3 Law on display at Base shopping mall. May 9 cumulated in two mock trials at base and Jacksonville high school. Activity Narrative: We did a fun golf tournament for golfers and non-golfers alike for members of the Onslow Bar and the Judge Advocates aboard Camp Lejeune. We had 24 individuals signed up; 12 J.A.'s and 12 local attorneys. We played at the Jacksonville Country Club, Friday, May 2nd, after a picnic type lunch. The planning committee consisted of two Onslow Bar members, and three Judge advocates. The special rules included use of a short driver, a t-ball stand and bat, throwing the ball, putting using the putter as a pool cue, playing one hole barefoot, and putting by rolling the ball like a bowling ball. Each foursome included two Bar members and J.A.'s, so there was plenty of opportunity to get to know each other, the primary intent of the function. Members of the bar and Judge Advocate have expressed to committee members that the golf tournament was enjoyable. A local attorney, Charles Henry, has a weekly hour long program called The People's Law School. In honor of Law Day, we worked with him to produce a three-hour program on Friday May 2, featuring NC Superior Court Judge James Strickland, the head of Legal Assistance, Major Archer, and a panel of guests, to discuss constitutional issues. Major Archer's section was basically a call-in question and answer format on frequently asked questions or issues pertaining to military and dependents. This program appeared to be a success in that there were many callers. On Saturday May 3, we had a Law on Display set up in front of the Main Exchange complex, for all persons eligible for access to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, which number comprises the larger portion of the Jacksonville area population. The following organizations were present: Consolidated Legal Assistance Office, with legal handouts and Law Day lollipops, pencils, etc.; the military police, with McGruff the crime dog, a static radar display, and a working dog demonstration; Onslow County Sheriff's Department, with information and a child identification (fingerprinting) set-up; Jacksonville Police Department with SWAT gear, bicycle patrol, and other displays; Onslow County Bar Association with North Carolina Bar law handouts and lawyers willing to answer questions; Guardian ad litem program representative and information table; Self-Defense demonstration; Base Library/Education Center with information on law resources; and Navy/Marine Corps Relief. All displays were highly interesting, and a large number of people wandered through the displays, partly due to the MWR Tent Sale in the parking lot. Overall, the Law on Display was very successful. On Friday May 9, we did a mock trial on a DWI charge. The trial was conducted at two high schools, White Oak, in Jacksonville, and Lejeune High School, on Base. The players were all individuals in their own roles. Judge Paul Hardison, a local District Court Judge, presided; Assistant District Attorney Ernest Lee was the prosecutor; Chip Medlin, a local attorney, defended the case; and Trooper Art Kirby of the North Carolina Highway Patrol was the main prosecution witness. Two students from each school were selected to play the parts of defendant and the defendant's witness. The students from each school made up the juries. At Lejeune High School the entire junior class (about 90 students) attended the trial, whereas at White Oak only the government class (about 30 students) attended. All students were split up into separate juries and each deliberated for about for about 15 minutes before being called back to the 'courtroom' to state their findings. The Lejeune trial was especially timely because without the interest, aid and resources of the bar any attempt at a mock trial would likely have included only Lejeune High, which would not have spread the activity to as wide a cross-section of the community. Also, it would have been much more difficult to bring the impact of a DWI trial home to the high school students without the real players, especially the real judge. Discussions during and after the trial looked to doing trials in the future years to include all the local high schools, but we noted that two high schools took up the entire day for the participants, who were all volunteers, and that it would be difficult either for the same people to try do all the schools, or for there to be several groups of trial participants. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization