More than 45 federal judges and attorney volunteers from Tennessee and across the nation celebrated Constitution Week with students in Memphis classrooms and courtrooms for the Civics Day kickoff of the Federal Bar Association’s Annual Meeting and Convention last week.
Civics Day is the Federal Bar Association’s flagship civics education event that occurs the day before the association’s Annual Meeting and Convention officially begins. This is the third year that the FBA has offered a Civics Day program to public schools in the city hosting its meeting.
Developed by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, The Constitution, the Courts, and Candid Conversations brings together hundreds of attorneys and judges every year for highly interactive classroom Q&A sessions with volunteer attorneys and judges. During each 50-minute, in-person class period, the guests create a welcoming environment for students to ask difficult law-related questions without judgement.
“Personal interactions between students and legal professionals can go a long way toward building confidence in the courts,” said Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Tu Pham of Memphis, who chairs the outreach committee in the Western District of Tennessee. “Candid conversations with judges and lawyers establish rapport that breaks down barriers and expose students at an early age to a range of careers in the law.”
Mary Hamm, President of the FBA’s Memphis chapter and lead counsel at FedEx in Memphis, matched teams of judges and attorneys with classes at seven high schools and one middle school in Memphis. Middle school students participated in courtroom programs, one of which included observing a live hearing.
Constitution Week starts on Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. It typically is celebrated in schools the week before and the week after the anniversary.
The federal judges from Memphis have chambers in the Odell Horton Federal Building. They were joined by attorney volunteers who facilitated candid conversations about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and their impact on the daily lives of students. The young people shared their questions, opinions, and perspectives on current issues.
“In order to humanize the practice of law as a service profession, each of the participating judges and attorneys gave their personal reason for choosing their individual career path,” said FBA member Andrew Loewenstein, a partner at Holland & Knight in West Palm Beach, FL, who was the national coordinator of this year’s program. “The story of my grandfather’s escape from Nazi Germany and his service in the U.S. Army as a physician motivated my career choice, and it seemed to resonate with the students when we asked them about the Constitutional rights and protections that are most meaningful in their daily lives.”