Onondaga County Bar Association, NY Contact: Michelle Benjamin, Community Services Coordinator Onondaga County Bar Association 1000 State Tower Building, Syracuse, NY 13202 E-mail: mbenjamin@onbar.org Teens & the Law Activity Summary: Through this year’s theme, “Protecting the Best Interests of Our Children,” our Law Week Committee launched a countywide initiative for teens. After much research and pooling of resources, the Committee established and enthusiastically met four children-centered goals. They arranged a live call-in television show focused on youth legal issues; created and distributed a teen resource booklet; coordinated a youth-centered Law Day; and  hosted a Teen Law Line, where teens could discuss legal issues with an attorney, confidentially. These activities were done in conjunction with our annual Law Week activities, such as our attorney/legal assistant shadow and speaker programs, courthouse tours, and our poster, essay and photography contests. Our purpose for conducting these activities was to educate teens and children about laws and their consequences. Activity Narrative: Inspired by this year’s ABA theme, “Protecting the Best Interests of Our Children,” our Law Week Committee launched a countywide initiative for teens. To ensure the plan was realistic and comprehensive, we: created a community Law Week Advisory Board; asked our mock trial participants representing seventeen area high schools to complete surveys; and attended a county-wide meeting of the Directors of Guidance Counselors. The feedback received from the community leaders, students and guidance counselors was a tremendous asset in establishing goals for this project. The result of research and discussion was a plan that will continue to evolve over the next few years. The theme, “Protecting the Best Interest of Our Children,” afforded the Bar Association and Law Week Committee an opportunity to focus on an important part of our community that has been intimidated and confused by our legal system: our children. Dealing with a limited budget and time, four theme-centered goals were created for the year 2001 to prevent teens from committing crimes by educating them about laws and their consequences: a children-centered theme for our monthly live “Attorney’s On Call" television show; creation and distribution of a teen resource booklet to address the identified concerns of teens; a Law Day more focused on students and children in our community; and a Teen Law Line, where teens can discuss legal issues with an attorney, confidentially. The first event to take place was the live call-in television show, entitled, “Protecting the Best Interest of Our Children.” Taking place just prior to Law Week, the show focused primarily on criminal and family law in relation to youth. Students from the county’s Youth Court Program participated by asking questions that were of concern to them and other teens. This show had a possible audience of 180,000 households. Additionally, attorneys, judges, legal assistants, police officers, students and various community leaders contributed to our “Teens & The Law” Resource Booklet. The booklet, which was “unveiled” at the Law Day Luncheon on May 1, 2001, has already been distributed to approximately 200 mock trial participants, high school guidance counselors, and organizations such as the Syracuse Partnership to Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence, and the Boys and Girls Club. Every topic page serves as part of the booklet or as a separate informational flyer that can be posted. Thus far, 350 copies have been prepared by the Bar Association. Our goal for a special youth-centered Law Day was enthusiastically met. Approximately 450 people attended the Law Day festivities. Our poster, photography, and essay boasted 125 or more participants. The winners received awards at the ceremony and luncheon and were featured in local newspapers. At the Ceremony, the County Executive and Mayor each took time, after reading their proclamations, to comment on the importance of our children. The presiding judge directed her speech to the youth in the audience, challenging them to be the best generation this county has experienced. And finally, after the students had received their awards, our Liberty Bell Award winner walked to the podium amidst a standing ovation for her work in recruiting volunteers for the Onondaga County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program. Similarly, our Law Day Luncheon commenced with a class from a local school singing a comical song entitled, “Lawyers for Justice.” The Luncheon speaker was a Syracuse City Police Officer who specializes in preventing Youth Violence. Also, for the first time, we invited the winners of the essay competition to read their essays at the Luncheon. It was truly a day of uniting for a special cause. And finally, our last immediate goal, the Teen Law Line, took place on the Thursday of law Week (May 3) from 3-6 p.m. after school. Two attorneys, well versed in criminal and family law, answered the phone lines. We didn’t receive as many calls as we had anticipated, but both attorneys are already looking forward to returning next year. Many partnerships were formed as a result of this project. Our Advisory Board greatly assisted the Committee by generating ideas and pooling their resources. Furthermore, this project has helped strengthen the relationship between the Bar Association and local guidance counselors, who now know the Bar Association is a resource for students when they encounter legal issues. It is difficult to ascertain the effectiveness of these activities to teens. We have received many excited comments from guidance counselors, the public, and local organizations. The students we talked to said the booklet was interesting and answered many questions. We have strived to maintain a high degree of quality in these programs, from the panel of judges and attorneys chosen for the television show to researching and designing the booklet. The booklet is the first publication created by the Onondaga County Bar Association targeting teens and the legal system. Furthermore, this initiative not only increased teens’ awareness of the rule of law, but surprisingly increased awareness among the general public, school administrators, guidance counselors, and area organizations as well. Our ultimate goal for next year is to assemble a panel of community professionals to discuss gun violence, search and seizure laws, etc. with students in local schools. We also hope to create another publication for guidance counselors and administrators regarding teens and students. The Onondaga County Bar Association and community leaders feel that educating our youth through prevention is an important initiative for the Syracuse community. We are optimistic and enthusiastic about this strong beginning and look forward to next year. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization