BRBF Law Day program to take place Monday, May 1

The Baton Rouge Bar Foundation Law Day program will take place at 9 a.m. Monday, May 1, 2017. Approximately 695 middle and high school students and their teachers from 13 public, private and parochial schools are expected to attend the annual event, which will be held at the Raising Cane’s River Center Theatre in downtown Baton Rouge.

Starting at 9 a.m., a naturalization ceremony and opening of the federal court will begin prior to the Law Day event, and interactive courtroom sessions in the 19th Judicial District Court, The Family Court and Baton Rouge City Court will follow the Law Day opening ceremony. A total of 34 individuals will become new citizens of the United States during the naturalization ceremony.

Speaking at this year’s Law Day event is Dr. James Gilmore, assistant chief administrative officer for Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. Law Day Poster and Essay Contest Award winners will be honored during the ceremony. The theme of this year's event is The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day in 1958 as a "day of national dedication to the principle of government under law." Law Day was inaugurated to celebrate our American freedoms and  the essential role of the law in a free and just society.

Hanna Thomas is the 2017 chair of the BRBF Law Day Committee. Jeffrey Wittenbrink is the committee vice chair, and Donna Buuck is the staff. Ann K. Gregorie is the executive director of the Baton Rouge Bar Association.

For more information about Law Day, contact Donna at 225-214-5556 or donna@brba.org.