NMI Judiciary joins Law Week celebration

Every year on May 1, the American Bar Association sponsors Law Day, a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law. This year’s theme is “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society,” values representing some of the “most important foundations for a free society,” according to the ABA.

“It is impossible to imagine a free society without these individual liberties, yet historical and current debates surrounding them continually challenge us to consider their boundaries and resilience,” said the ABA.

These ideas continue to ring true in the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world.

In years past, the Law Day proclamation signing was held in the Guma’ Hustisia. This year, the CNMI Judiciary is grateful to the Office of Aging and the Man’amko Center, which hosted the CNMI’s 2019 Law Day proclamation signing on Friday, April 26. Representatives from the executive, legislative, and judicial branch, as well as from the CNMI Bar Association, were present for the signing. The NMI Drug Court, established in 2015, also held their proclamation ceremony on May 2 at the American Memorial Park theatre.

The Judiciary partners with various agencies in the legal community to celebrate Law Day throughout the week of May 1. This includes sponsoring an essay and poster contest for students on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota commemorating this year’s Law Day theme. Students in elementary school were asked to create a poster that expresses their thoughts on Free Speech, Free Press, and Free Society. Middle school students were called on to write 500-word essays expressing the same values.

The NMI Supreme Court conducted appellate oral arguments at Grace Christian Academy on April 29. All Grace Christian Academy high school students were present for the oral arguments. Hosting appellate oral arguments throughout the CNMI’s schools is part of the “Justice and Judges in Classroom” program, an interactive outreach program designed to educate the youth on the judicial system. Students can witness attorneys make appellate arguments in front of the NMI Supreme Court and afterwards ask questions about the legal system. The Judiciary is grateful to GCA for welcoming the Supreme Court into their school.

This year’s celebration of Law Day was commemorated with the 35th Annual Attorney General’s Cup Speech Competition. Students from seven schools were represented, with Justin Ocampo from Mount Carmel School receiving first place, Lanz Jabez Victoria from Grace Christian Academy in second place, and Shea Kennedy Hartig from Marianas High School in third place. This year’s theme for the Attorney General’s Cup Speech Competition was Cannabis: Curse or Cure?

If you are interested in bringing the courtroom into your classroom, or for further information, contact Divana DelaCruz at divana.delacruz@justice.gov.mp. (PR)