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Mahoning County Bar unveils Law Day events

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: April 26, 2018

From tours of the courthouse to opportunities to watch trials and shadow an attorney or judge—those are some of the activities legal professionals in Mahoning County are planning for students as part of this year’s celebration of Law Day.

The Mahoning County Bar Association Law Day Committee Chair Chief Deputy Clerk of Court Kathi McNabb Welsh said the goal of the activities is to give young people a comprehensive understanding of how the legal system works, while introducing them to various career options that exist in the field.

“As an attorney I feel a sense of obligation to promote the legal profession in a positive light and Law Day is one of the ways in which I can do so,” said McNabb Welsh.

This year’s Law Day theme is Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.

Organized by The Mahoning County Bar Association Law Day Committee, the festivities get underway on April 30 as hundreds of seventh and eighth grade students from the Boardman and Springfield local school districts as well as students from St. Charles, St. Christine and Holy Family begin taking tours of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

“Lawyers and other legal professionals volunteer to do the tours,” said McNabb Welsh. “Each tour is made up of about 30 students and this year we have such a large number of students participating that we will be doing a tour on Law Day itself.

“I am going to do one of the tours,” she said. “I have worked in the courthouse for about 30 years and I am very proud of the building. I am also excited to give students a chance to watch court sessions and attend sentencing hearings so they can see exactly what happens.”

Mahoning County Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu, Jr. has been taking groups of middle school students on courthouse tours since he first started practicing law more than 20 years ago.

“I signed up again this year,” said Judge Rusu. “I enjoy sharing the rich history of the courthouse with the students and explaining how the court works,” he said. “For many of these students the only thing they know about the court and the law is what they see on TV.

“It's a very educational experience for them and I love dealing with children. I, myself, am a big kid at heart.

“Last year I also had a student shadow me for a day and we attended the Law Day luncheon together,” said Judge Rusu. “This year I have not gotten a shadowing request, but I would be happy to do it again.”

Students who are shadowing an attorney for the day also get the chance to tour the Mahoning County Juvenile Court and Detention Center.

 

Former Law Day Committee Chair Mahoning County Juvenile Court Chief Magistrate Richard White has served as the coordinator of the juvenile court tours for many years.

Rollen Smith, TEAMS (Teach, Educate, Acknowledge & Mentor Students) program director at the Mahoning County Juvenile Court, conducts the tours.  

“Rollen does a great job of doing all the tours at the court throughout the year,” said White, who has taken students on tours at the county courthouse for years.

“Juvenile Court is much different than the main courthouse since the hearings are usually closed to the public,” said White. “Students cannot sit in on the actual hearings for privacy reasons, but they do get to see portions of the building and the detention center.

 

“It’s very impactful to say the least,” he said. “The experience shows them the consequences of bad behavior at a very young age.

 

“I usually also have a student shadow me for a day and I have also spoken at local high schools and middle schools,” said White. “I would say the most important aspect of Law Day is the relationships it allows legal professionals to forge with the community.”

Juniors and seniors across the county are again participating in The Mahoning County Bar Association’s annual essay contest.

The subject of the essay is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Texas 579 US___(2016), in which the high court upheld a lower court’s ruling that President Barack Obama’s executive actions (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents “DAPA”) allowing four million illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. violated the separation of powers.

The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia led to a 4-4 tie.

“We are asking the students to imagine that they are the deciding justice and issue a ruling as to whether the former President violated the separation of powers doctrine,” said McNabb Welsh.

The six winners will be awarded cash prizes during The Mahoning County Bar Association Law Day Luncheon, which takes place on May 3.

“The first place winner gets $500 and the amounts will decrease incrementally,” said McNabb Welsh.

In addition, each school district in the county is allowed to bring up to eight people to the luncheon.

The Mahoning County Bar Association Foundation Robert Boyd Law Day Fund covers the cost of the luncheon for the students and teachers who are invited to attend, along with the essay contest prizes. 

The attorneys pay for themselves and the student who is assigned to shadow them.

 

This year’s keynote speaker is Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Carla Baldwin, who made history as the first African American female to be elected judge in Mahoning County.

“I will be talking to the students about the importance of writing your dream down as a tool to achieving it,” said Judge Baldwin, who took the bench at the beginning of 2018. “I often ask students if they know what they want to do when they grow up and hands fly up. When I ask if they want to be a defendant, no hands go up.

“The difference between achieving your dream and becoming a defendant is the choices that you make,” said Judge Baldwin. “By writing down your dream you commit to it on paper and every time you have a critical decision to make you can look back at what you wrote and ask yourself, ‘will this further my goal or kill it?’

“It’s a way of holding yourself accountable,” Judge Baldwin said. “Many people look at me and see the success that I’ve achieved. I had to work hard for everything and the only difference between myself and others is that I made better choices.”

The Law Day luncheon gets underway at noon on May 3 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Social Hall in Youngstown. For more information on the luncheon contact Renee Kenneally at The Mahoning County Bar Association at 330-746-2933 or send an email to rkenneally@mahoningbar.org.


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