Judges of the 19th Circuit
Judicial Speakers Bureau
The Judicial Speakers Bureau of Lake County provides judges to speak to a variety of groups throughout the county. Students, seniors, public service organizations, business groups, advocates, and legal groups are a few examples. Judges regularly assist teachers in the classroom by judging mock trials, addressing career programs, assisting with oratorical contests, advising students, and presenting real-life trial examples as learning tools. Other activities sponsored by the Judicial Speakers Bureau in 2008 included:
- Law Merit Badge Day
- High School Mock Trial Invitational
- Law Day
- Photo, essay, poster, and coloring contests on “The Rule of Law”
- Liberty Bell Award, which recognizes individuals and groups for their outstanding service and for their dedication in furthering the administration of justice
- Juror Appreciation Week
- Judges Reading Program
- Judicial Public Awareness Programs
- Take Your Child to Work Day
The Eleventh Annual Law Merit Badge Day was held at the Courthouse on January 26, 2008. Seventy Scouts from North Star, Aptakisic, Northwoods, Signal Hill, Northern Trails, Ottawa (from Michigan), Nishnabec (from Indiana), Southern Trails, and Heartland Districts participated. Judge George Bridges addressed the differences between civil and criminal laws; the origin of law; the development of the jury system; the Justinian Code and the Magna Carta; and famous trials in history. Judge Brian Hughes presided over a mock trial involving the snatching of an envelope that contained $3,000 in cash from a person who was at the courthouse to pay her taxes. The Scouts served as members of the jury, who reached a “not guilty” verdict.
The 5th Annual Lake County Mock Trial Invitational was held at the Courthouse on Saturday, February 2, 2008. Teams from Cook, DuPage, Kane, and Lake Counties participated representing sixteen schools – Antioch, Carmel, Chicago Christian, Evanston, Glenbard South, Highland Park, Libertyville, Maine East, Maine West, Mundelein, South Elgin, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Wheaton Academy, York, and Zion-Benton. The winning teams were: Evanston, First Place; Wheaton Academy, Second Place; and Highland Park, Third Place.
Law Day was held on May 2, 2008. Over 250 Lake County high school students attended various programs presented at the courthouse in observance of Law Day, which is observed annually on May 1st in the United States. Law Day programs included:
- Students participated in a mock trial involving a case (inspired from real events as reported in headline news) of a group of teens who found themselves caught up in the frenzy of high school bullying and the internet. Judge Michael Fusz served as facilitator and Judge Brian Hughes presided over the trial. The defendants and the jury were portrayed by students;
- A reenactment of a sentencing hearing conducted by Judge John T. Phillips involving a defendant who was found guilty of multiple counts of reckless homicide causing the deaths of a mother and three sixteen year old high school students;
- County Clerk Willard Helander did a presentation on eligibility to vote, and some students had the opportunity to register to vote. Voting booths were set up for students to vote sample ballots that were processed through an optical scanner to tabulate the results.
- Representatives from State's Attorney Mike Waller's Office addressed the topics of cyber crimes and identity theft; and
- A tour of the Lake County jail was led by jail administration of Sheriff Mark Curran's office.
Other law day activities included a photo contest for high school and college students and an essay competition for seventh and eighth grade students on the theme “The Rule of Law – What It Means to Me.” Students in grades four through six entered a poster contest illustrating the Law Day theme. A coloring contest was offered to students in kindergarten through third grade. First, second, and third place winners were selected from each grade level in all three contests.
All contest winners, their parents, and teachers were invited to an awards ceremony on May 2nd. The Honorable Joseph R. Waldeck judged the coloring contest for kindergarten through third grade and the poster contest for grades four through six. Judge Ray Collins chose the winning entry in the photo contest. The Honorable Valerie Boettle Ceckowski judged the essay contest for seventh grade, and the Honorable Jorge L. Ortiz judged the essay contest for eighth grade.
Two Liberty Bell Award winners were also honored at a ceremony held at the Depke Juvenile Justice Center on April 16, 2008. The Liberty Bell Award originated in the 1960's in Michigan to honor extraordinary service to the justice system and dedication to the furtherance of the administration of justice. Since 2005, the awards have been presented in Memory of Judge Thomas R. Smoker, a respected Lake County judge who passed away in 2004. The recipients for 2008 were Mr. Wayne Hunter, the Director of Homeland Security for the Lake County Sheriff, and the Lincolnshire Garden Club.
Juror Appreciation Week was held the week of October 14, 2008. Lake County Judges annually select a week to recognize and honor past and current prospective jurors who have had to put all personal matters aside and focus on their role as a selected member of a jury charged with deciding a verdict at the close of a trial. A card containing a commemorative stamp formally issued by the U.S. Postal Service on September 12, 2007 in honor of jury service was distributed to jurors who were summoned to jury duty the week of October 14. Approximately 8,000 citizens each year report for jury service in Lake County. According to the National Center for State Courts, 95% of all jury trials are held in the United States.
Requests for judges to preside over Mock Trials, participate in Career Days at middle and high schools, and read books to elementary grade school classes through the Judges Reading Program continue to be very popular throughout the year.
|