50th anniversary of Law Day at COC.

Encouraging both students and community members to “approach the bench and be heard,” College of the Canyons will host a Law Day event in celebration of the nationally recognized day’s 50th Anniversary.
 
Featuring live music, student debates and a special presentation on the issue of appointed versus elected judges — with insight and commentary from United States District Court Judge Otis Wright, Jr. and California Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Buckley — College of the Canyons Law Day will take place Thursday May 1, from 1p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the Valencia campus.
 
“Our judicial branch of government rarely makes front page or headline news. However it is arguably the most important branch of government because the judiciary makes decisions about real people everyday,” said Nicole Lucy, COC Paralegal Studies Department Chair. “The decisions of judges and juries impact our lives directly and immediately. It just happens one person at a time.”
 
In 1958 the first Law Day was proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be a “day of national dedication to the principle of government under law.” Nationally, Law Day 2008 will explore the meaning of the rule of law, while also fostering a better public understanding of the rule of law through discussion of its role in a free society.
 
Organized entirely by a student planning committee, the college’s Law Day event theme was inspired by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s recent article in the Los Angeles Times’ Parade Magazine, entitled “How to Save Our Courts.” In it O’Connor expresses her concerns about the state of the judiciary in America, specifically “the manner in which politically motivated interest groups are attempting to interfere with justice.”
 
“Justice O'Connor's article highlights why an independent judiciary is so important,” Lucy said. “It inspired the planning committee to want to learn more about the issue and seek out a judge’s opinion about the process. The topic begged the question as to whether one day it would be possible to ‘Buy Your Own Judge’ (BYOJ).”
 
For more information about Law Day at College of the Canyons please contact Nicole Lucy at (661) 362-5377.