The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.
Contact:
Annette Boyd Pitts, Executive Director
The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.
1625 Metropolitan Circle, Suite B, Tallahassee, FL 32308
Email: abpflreaed@aol.com
Justice is Served!
A Florida Law Week Celebration
Activity Summary:
Justice is Served! provided a unique initiative to bring the courts and the classroom
closer together. The initiative included the development of a manual to assist judges with
classroom presentations. The manual was provided to over 800 Florida judges. A statewide
Law Week essay and poster contest was sponsored with winners and their families attending
a special ceremony at the Supreme Court. Students participated in a mock appellate
argument. Classroom visits and television appearances rounded out the statewide Law Week
initiatives.
Activity Narrative:
This statewide Law Week initiative was designed to bridge the gap between the courts
and the education communities. A recent ABA survey on Americans’ perceptions of
justice indicated that the public preferred learning about the justice system directly
from judges. This project provided the framework and resources for rebuilding trust and
confidence in the legal system through a series of organized Law Week activities involving
the judiciary. Chief Justice Major B. Harding of the Supreme Court of Florida and Annette
Boyd Pitts, Executive Director of The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.,
worked cooperatively on the design of the Law Week program.
First, over 800 Florida judges received a resource manual developed by staff of The
Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc. in cooperation with Justice Barbara
Pariente, Supreme Court of Florida, and Robert Craig Waters, Public Information Officer
for the Supreme Court. The idea was developed by Justice Pariente following her visit to
Palm Beach Lakes Community High School Law Magnet. A data documentation form was included
as judges could report their visits to schools throughout the year. Chief Justice Major B.
Harding sent a letter which accompanied the manual to all judges encouraging their
participation.
To provide leadership and a model for judicial involvement, Supreme Court Justice Fred
Lewis and Annette Boyd Pitts, Executive Director of The Florida Law Related Education
Association, Inc. visited directly with elementary and secondary students at various
schools during this Law Week initiative. “I had so much fun, I couldn’t stop
thinking about it,” said one fifth grader. Justice Lewis and Annette Boyd Pitts also
assisted in training teachers and preservice teachers using the activities from the
Judges’ Manual.
A statewide Law Week essay and poster contest was sponsored this year by the Supreme
Court, The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc. and The Florida Bar. Over 700
entries from 14 judicial circuits were received. The winning students, their families and
teachers were brought to Tallahassee for a special Law Week educational program including
a mock appellate argument, lunch and a Supreme Court awards ceremony. Trophies and savings
bonds were provided to all nine student winners ranging in age from seven to seventeen.
All 700 students received a special Law Week T-shirt designed for the Florida program.
Students and the families participating in the Supreme Court program rated the
experience as exceptional. “It provided a very human side to the courts,” said
one student.
To reach out to the public, multiple television appearances were made by Supreme Court
Chief Justice Major B. Harding, Annette Boyd Pitts, and Florida Bar President-Elect Edith
Osman to discuss Law Week, the rule of law, and education outreach activities. The
programs were broadcast on statewide cable and a local Tallahassee news show. The programs
reached an estimated 500,000 Floridians.
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