Council on Public Legal Education Celebrates First-Year Achievements

Seattle, Washington, March 15, 2001 — The Council on Public Legal Education, a partnership of education, legal, media and community groups, recently marked its first-year anniversary. The Council's first-year achievements include:

In January, approximately 25 legislators attended the first Law School for Legislators, where they learned about the state and federal constitution, our state court system, and statutory interpretation. Distinguished presenters included State Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge and State Appeals Court Judge Dean Morgan. Because most state legislators are not lawyers, the Council believes it is in the public interest to ensure they have a basic grounding in how laws can be constructed and how they are interpreted by the courts. The Council plans to hold the Law School for Legislators each year before the beginning of the legislative session, and to offer similar workshops for other public officials.

Sponsored jointly with the University of Washington's Schools of Education and Law, this day-long conference introduced participants to several programs being used across the state to teach young people about their legal rights and responsibilities and the principles of democracy. Guest speakers included Professor James Banks, director of the University of Washington's Center for Multicultural Education, and Professor Stewart Jay of the University of Washington Law School. This event was the first step toward the Council's goal of providing teachers with the materials and training they need to incorporate democratic citizenship education into their classes at every grade level. The conference was attended by more than 40 K-12 educators from around the state, as well as approximately 20 community representatives including a number of judges.

This month marked the inaugural issue of this quarterly electronic newsletter, which includes notices about upcoming civics-related events and links to Web-based resources. Although aimed primarily at teachers, others may find it useful and interesting also. For a free subscription, e-mail pami@wsba.org. Democratic Life may also be viewed at http://www.plecouncil.org/ (select "What's new?").

The Council also celebrated its first fund-raising success, as five organizations recently pledged to contribute money or facilities for a conference to be held this spring on youth courts. (A youth court is an alternative approach to juvenile justice and/or school disciplinary processes in which juveniles are sentenced by their peers. Youth courts frequently handle school rule violations; traffic infractions and/or minor juvenile offences such as truancy, drug and alcohol offenses; minor theft and vandalism.) The goal of the conference will be to start 10 new youth courts in Washington by educating potential stakeholders such as school administrators, student leaders and judges.

The Council on Public Legal Education was created in early 2000 to address the need for greater understanding within Washington state of our legal system and the democratic principles it rests upon. The Honorable Marlin Appelwick, state Appellate Court judge and former legislator, and former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Judith Billings serve as the Council's co-chairs. The Council's mission is to ensure that all Washingtonians understand their legal rights and responsibilities and can participate effectively in both the justice system and democracy as a whole; it is pursuing this mission by creating, coordinating and encouraging many kinds of public legal education programs. The Council's long-range plan is based upon the following strategies: (1) "educating the educators," including teachers and journalists; (2) developing and providing materials for the public that can be used and distributed by community groups, government agencies, courts, libraries and other entities; and (3) providing information directly to the public via a "gateway" legal Web site. The Council is currently housed and staffed by the Washington State Bar Association, which underwrites its core functions. Additional information about the Council can be found at http://www.plecouncil.org/.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 26,500 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member service activities.