Friday, September 5, 2014

Justice Center participates in Alaska Court System and Alaska Bar program for Anchorage secondary school social studies teachers

Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe (seated center) with secondary school teachers and
volunteer attorneys in the Alaska Supreme Court courtroom at the close of the day's program.
Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D.,  and Prof. Kristen Knudsen, J.D.,  Justice Center Legal Studies faculty, participated in the "Justice for All Social Studies Secondary Field Trip" on August 15. About 40 secondary school social studies teachers from Anchorage toured the Supreme Court courtroom, met and heard from Supreme Court Chief Justice Dana Fabe, and listened to a panel of judges including Presiding Judge William Morse, Judge Patrick McKay, and Judge Leslie Dickson.  The group also observed Wellness Court where Judge David Wallace presided, and met with volunteer attorneys as part of the Attorney Connect program.

Prof. Knudsen (r) talks with teachers and another volunteer
attorney, Sue Urig, about the Attorney Connect program.
The Attorney Connect program is a new project of the Alaska Bar's Law Related Education (LRE) Committee. The goal is to create a liaison between the schools and attorneys who are interested in legal education for their students. The volunteer attorneys will support teachers who have a legal question, need a presenter for a class, want to check their facts or law, or who otherwise need legal assistance in educating students on law-related subjects. The teachers were introduced to this new program and volunteer attorneys assigned to schools.  Prof. Kristen Knudsen will be the liaison to alternative schools in the Anchorage School District.

Prof. Fortson (standing) listens for questions from secondary school
teachers about the Alaska Youth Law Guide .
As part of the Attorney Connect agenda, Prof. Fortson made a presentation to the teachers about the Alaska Youth Law Guide -  a project of the LRE Committee of the Bar Association. The online guide helps teens and young adults understand the law and how it may affect them. It includes general information about many of the legal issues youth are likely to encounter, and some resources for getting more information or assistance.

The event was sponsored by the Alaska Bar Law Related Education Committee, the Alaska Court System, and the Anchorage School District.