US Army Judge Advocate in Yongsan, Korea Contact: Christopher D. Olive, CPT., JA, Legal Assistance Attorney Law Week Coordinator U.S. Army Judge Advocate LSAK (Korea), Unit 15322 APO, AP 96205-0095 E-mail: CKOLIVE@aminet.co.kr Activity Narrative: The USFK Judge Advocate and Eighth U.S. Army Staff Judge Advocate, Yongsan Law Center, Yongsan Garrison, Republic of Korea, developed a week-long series of Law Day 1997 events and activities for the Yongsan community. The Yongsan community consists of more than 17,000 U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine personnel, Department of Defense civilian employees, and family members. The primary focus of the week of events and activities was to expand the awareness of young people about the rule of law and various aspects of the legal system and how those aspects affect our daily lives. The secondary focus of the week was to expand and strengthen our informal partnership with the Yongsan community and to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army legal community. The Law Day 1997 program was primarily designed to reach out to the elementary school and high school institutions and engage students in a series of events that addressed different aspects of the rule of law while incorporating the "Celebrate yYour Freedom" theme. First, with respect to the elementary school students, we performed two mock trial presentations to approximately 200 sixth-grade students. The mock trial was designed exclusively by the U.S. Army Judge Advocate for presentation to students. Following each of the mock trial presentations, JAG officers discussed the important issues raised during the mock trial with all students. We also held essay and poster contests for students to express their interpretations on the "Celebrate Your Freedom" theme. More than one hundred students participated in the poster and essay contests, respectively. The students who contributed winning entries were presented with award certificates, letters of commendation, and U.S. savings bonds at the elementary school graduation ceremonies in June 1997. In addition, the winning poster entry was used as the T-shirt design for the Law Day 1997 Community Fun Run, which nearly three hundred participants received. Finally, several teachers were recognized at the award ceremony for their contribution in assisting the Judge Advocate in planning the event. Second, with respect to the high school students, we designed a more rigorous program which also addressed the different aspects of the rule of law. For instance, JAG officers delivered four classroom presentations about the U.S. Constitution and legal system to more than 200 eleventh and twelfth grade students. On May 1st, we held the first annual Criminal Justice Day, attended by more than one hundred students throughout the day. Criminal Justice Day included (1) mock "arrests" of students for committing on-post and off-post "crimes"; (2) presentations of various law enforcement techniques; and (3) discussions of criminal law and international law "issues" raised during and after arrests. Ten personnel from the military law enforcement community and approximately one hundred students participated in Criminal Justice Day. Finally, we designed and facilitated the first annual Law Week Advocacy Event. The Advocacy Event consisted of twelve teams of four student advocates which delivered competitive "appellant" and "appellee" arguments to panels of JAG officers acting as "judges" in moot court-styled matches. The issues addressed by the student advocates concerned whether or not certain provisions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 which criminalize the transmission of certain "indecent" material over the Internet intended for minors are constitutional under the First Amendment. The teams received materials and guidance from JAG officers for their presentations. Both the Criminal Justice Day and Advocacy Event were televised across Korea on Armed Forces Korea Network. The Advocacy Event Finals were held at the high school auditorium and attended by more than three hundred people. All students who won their matches and otherwise participated in the Event were treated to an Advocacy Event luncheon at the Youth Services Organization. The students received award certificates, letters of commendation for their college files, and Law Day T-shirts for their participation and match victories at an award ceremony before their student peers at the high school. Based on the enthusiastic participation from the educational community, we fully expect that all of these events will continue for Law Day 1998. In addition, we understand that the Advocacy Event may lead to the formation of a Debate Club at the high school. The Law Day program was also designed to reach out to expand and strengthen our informal partnership to the Yongsan community and to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army legal community. This was addressed in two primary ways. First, we hosted an evening social with the Republic of Korea attorneys to foster goodwill among the legal community. Second, we sponsored the Law Day 5K Community Fun Run, in which more than three hundred people participated, and the top Judge Advocate leadership presented run awards and T-shirts. We believe that both of these widely attended events were successful in their respective goals. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization