Ninth Judicial District, MN Contact: Jon A. Maturi, Judge of District Court Ninth Judicial District 123 4th St. NE, Grand Rapids, MN 55744 E-mail: jon.maturi@courts.state.mn.us Activity Summary: Judges and administrators of the Ninth Judicial District of Minnesota, together with members of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Districts of the Minnesota State Bar Association teamed up to host celebrations of Law Day 1998 in twelve of the seventeen counties that make up the Ninth District. Most activities – though not all – were held on May 1 and centered on the theme "Celebrate Your Freedom" as designated by the American Bar Association. The coordination of these events was overseen by the Ninth District’s Outreach Committee in keeping with its goal to increase the public’s knowledge of and appreciation for our justice system. An additional objective for this year’s law Day observance was to expand the potential audience through the use of the district’s recently installed interactive television system. Representatives from participating courts worked together to develop materials and share ideas, but each individual county group – which typically included judges, administrators and lawyers, as well as law enforcement officials, teachers and others – was free to devise its own celebration agenda as long as it was in keeping with our central theme of "freedom". The state supreme court’s information office assisted each county’s planning group by developing and disseminating media releases. Law Day activities in each county included tours of court facilities, panel discussions ("due process" was the theme selected as the district-wide theme for this activity), mock trials and providing general information by way of kiosks and group presentations. The audience at most sites was comprised of elementary and secondary school students – almost 1800 in all – though the general public participated at some locations. For those sites having activities on May 1 the kick off event was an address via interactive television by the state supreme court’s chief justice and an associate justice. Speaking from the state capitol in St. Paul, they discussed the importance of law in our daily lives, and then fielded questions from individuals at the various county sites. Mock trials were especially popular with student groups. Some were held at local schools, which elsewhere students were present at the courthouse. In one area of the district several schools were linked by ITV to one courthouse and were thus able to participate in the mock trial being held here. Judges, attorneys, court staff and students took on roles to present the trials – and had a great time doing it. A variety of scripts were used for the mock trials, some locally produced and others obtained from sources such as the American Bar Association. One such trial was featured in the newspaper article, "Paul Bunyan acquitted of Exploitation". Much excitement was engendered by the 1998 Law Day celebration in the Ninth District. Plans for expanding the observance in 1999 are already under way. A number of schools that were not able to participate on May 1 have asked that similar events be scheduled next fall when classes resume. Several judges and court administrators have been asked to speak to civic groups in the next few months. We deem this to have been a very worthwhile and successful undertaking and look forward to having annual Law Day observances become a tradition in the Ninth Judicial District. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization