Judicial Civic Education Award

Judicial Civic Education Award

"Lady Justice the Central Criminal Court Or Old Bailey London, UK" - Eraclis Aristidou

History

The Judicial Civic Education Award came about because most Teacher of the Year applications mentioned a dedicated judge who worked with students in law-related activities or volunteered to be a judge in a mock trial contest. We felt those outstanding judges who helped educate students in the law and the legal process needed to be recognized, thus was the creation of the ALA Judicial Civic Education Award.

Purpose

To recognize and honor judges for their work in promoting civic education within their community and state.

Nominee

A judge who is involved in promoting civic education in his or her state. 

Guidelines

A judge who goes above and beyond his/her judicial duties to promote civic education in his/her jurisdiction or state. This may include but not limited to:
  1. Inviting students to the court to explain the role of the court in their everyday lives.
  2. Working with teachers to create curriculum to be used in the classroom.
  3. Presiding over student moot court cases.
  4. Visiting classrooms in their districts.

Deadline

March 15


For More Information
Contact

Janey Pettiette, Co-Chairman Judicial Civic Education Award

jypettiette@aol.com 


Judicial Civic Education Award Nomination Form

2023 Judicial Civic Education Award Recipient

Montgomery County District Judge Andrea Duffy
Montgomeryville, PA


Besides handling over 75,000 cases since she was elected Judge in 2012, what exemplifies her as Our Judge is her community advocacy in and out of the courtroom.


Judge Duffy is actively involved with many local community groups to enhance law-related education. This includes a monthly commitment to 6th graders in local schools to educate the students on civic issues and responsibilities. She brought a volunteer based year long Civics Program, “Liberty and the Law," to 6th graders in 5 local schools, for which she proudly received the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 2016 Rendell Friend of Social Studies Award. Judge Duffy has taught thousands of students since 2012 and has been honored with state citations for this initiative.  Session topics include “What is a Law?,” “Choosing Political Leaders,” “The Bill of Rights, “Juvenile Court” and “The First Amendment in Schools: Slander and Cyber-bullying.” At the conclusion of the program, the kids also participate in a mock trial utilizing much of what they’ve learned during the year, and get a personalized certificate of completion. She also works with the North Penn Mock Trials Team at her court and in their North Penn High School Classes. 

She is one of the founders of Drug Addiction Resource Alliance (DARA) working with local law enforcement, medical professionals and others to offer rehabilitation options to drug offenders rather than immediate jail time. She has also initiated a juvenile diversionary program to fashion, creative and personalized resolutions to teens, who deserve a second chance.

The best part of teaching for me is connecting with the students, gaining their trust in me as their local judge and sharing with them my love and pride for our legal system,” she said. “I want these students to understand that I am here to help them, and perhaps they can avoid future pitfalls if they better understand our laws and penalties and better ways to resolve conflicts.”


The Honorable Andrea Duffy, Montgomery County District Judge

Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania


2022 Judicial Civic Education Award Recipient

Justice Brett Busby was appointed to the Court by Governor Greg Abbott in February 2019, confirmed unanimously by the Texas Senate, and elected to a full term in November 2020. An experienced appellate litigator, Justice Busby was a partner at the Bracewell firm in Houston and served on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals for six years before joining the Supreme Court.  He is Chair-Elect of the State Bar Judicial Section, and a director of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.


Justice Busby is a seventh-generation Texan, third-generation Eagle Scout, and life-long violinist who grew up in Amarillo and Austin. After graduating with high honors from Duke University and Columbia Law School, he served as a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White (Ret.) and John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court, and to Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.


In private practice, Busby represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Texas, and federal and state appellate courts. Super Lawyers Magazine named him one of the top 100 lawyers in Texas in 2012, and Chambers and Partners recognized him as a leading Texas appellate lawyer. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law and is a former adjunct professor at the University of Texas Law School, where he helped teach the U.S. Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.


In 2018, the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists recognized Justice Busby’s judicial service by naming him Appellate Judge of the Year. He has also received the Judge of the Year Award from the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Houston Young Lawyers Association. Attorneys consistently rate Justice Busby highly in judicial evaluation polls.


An advocate for Law-Related Education, Justice Busby helped to create, apply and teach a lesson plan for all 7th grade Texas students to introduce them to the Texas Court System.  Known as the "Taming Texas Judicial Civics and Court History Project," this program recruits judges and attorneys to teach lessons to 7th graders reaching over 22,000 students in the Houston area alone with a goal to reach 424,000 students state wide!  Taming Texas features a two-part curriculum based on information about the State's courts and stories from the acclaimed Taming Texas books: Taming Texas: How Law and Order Came to the Lone Star State, Taming Texas: Law and the Texas Frontier, Taming Texas: The Chief Justices of Texas, and there is a currently a fourth book in the works about women in the law.  Learn more at http://tamingtexas.org/.


Justice Busby is dedicated to improving the justice system and the legal profession. His fellow Texas appellate lawyers recently elected him as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section. He works closely with the Texas Access to Justice Commission, which helps assure that Texans with limited means have access to basic civil legal services. He previously served on the Texas Multi-District Litigation Panel and chaired the State Bar Committee on Pattern Jury Charges (Business, Consumer, Insurance, and Employment). Busby is also active in his community: he is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and has served on the boards of the Post Oak School and the Houston Symphony (where he chaired the Artistic Affairs Committee and the Music Director Selection Committee).


Justice Busby and his wife, Erin, met while clerking at the U.S. Supreme Court. They have two children.

His term ends December 31, 2026.

 


The Honorable Brett Busby, Texas Supreme Court Justice


2019 Judicial Civic Education Award Recipient

The Honorable Stephan M. McNamee was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush.  He presided as Chief District Judge for the District of Arizona from August 1999 through April 2006.

Judge McNamee currently serves as a Senior United States District Judge, and he serves as needed as a judge by designation on the United State Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Prior to  being appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, he served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona (1985-1990), after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney (1971-1985).  Judge McNamee received his Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree from the University of Cincinnati and his Master of Arts and Juris Doctorate Degrees from the University of Arizona.

During his tenure with the courts and the United States Attorney's Office, Judge McNamee served on numerous national, circuit, and district committees, including the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council.

In 2016, Judge McNamee was awarded the Mark Santana Law-Related Education Award for his 17+ years of involvement in the Arizona Mock Trial Program.  Also in 2016, Judge McNamee received the Judge John M. Roll Award - for which the presentation ceremony included video tributes from Senator John S. McCain and Senator Jon Kyl.

In 2009, he received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the University of Arizona; and in 2006, he received the Arizona State Bar Jame A. Walsh Outstanding Jurist Award. He was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati in 2003.
The Honorable Stephan M. McNamee, Senior U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Arizona

2018 Judicial Civic Education Award Recipient

We recognize Judge Lowe for his work as past Chair for the State Bar of MIchigan's Law-Related Education Committee, where he was very supportive of the Annual State Essay Contest.  He has also served on the Michigan Judicial Institute and Secondary Civic Curriculum Project of the Open Justice Commission of the State Bar of Michigan.  He currently serves as President and Board Member of the Center for Civic Education Through Law.

Judge Lowe graduated from Plymouth-Salem High School.  He received his undergraduate degree from Hillsdale College, Michigan, and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.  His a past president of the Michigan District Judges Association.  In 2013, he was awarded the Integrity in the Community Award from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where his currently an adjunct professor teaching a class on district court practice.

In his early years on the bench, he assisted in or oversaw the drafting and implementation of the domestic violence program, the creation of Law Day activities, the expansion of outreach programs and drafting of Michigan juvenile court procedures.  He devised a plan for the payment of indigent attorneys which as generated revenues that fund the public defender.

Judge Lowe has a secondary career as a storyteller, and he regularly donates these talents to schools and other organizations in his community.  Every February, Judge Lowe dyes his hair and beard black, shaves his mustache, and tells stories of Abraham Lincoln as Lincoln in the Plymouth-Canton and Northville school systems.  He as served on the 35th District Court of Michigan since January 1995.  His father, Charles, who was a lawyer for over fifty years, taught him that "good law is just common sense." He tries to apply that advice daily.  To sum up who he is and why the ALA his honoring him, we quote Judge Lowe's maxim, "Education leads to understanding, and understanding leads to appreciation.  I can't expect you to appreciate something if I am unwilling to take the time to teach you about it."
Click Here to Read Judge Lowe's Speech at the ALA Judicial Award Ceremony Click Here to Read the Press Release for Judge Lowe at the ALA Judicial Award Ceremony
The Honorable Ronald W. Lowe, Chief Judge Pro Tem for the 35th District Court of Michigal

2017 Judicial Civic Education Award Recipient

Update:  Sadly, Judge Katzmann passed away June 9, 2021 from pancreatic cancer.  It was truly an honor to have him as our first recipient of the American Lawyers Alliance Judicial Civic Education Award.  You can read more about Judge Katzmann here.


 Since the proposal had been approved by the Board, the TOY Committee nominated The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to be the first recipient of the “American Lawyers Alliance Judicial Civic Education Award.” The nomination was approved by the ALA Board of Directors. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals is in New York City.

 Judge Katzmann received his A.B. Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University; A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Government from Harvard and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Judge Katzmann was recently featured in the New York Times (November 10, 2016) for instituting a wide-ranging program called “Justice for All: Courts and the Community.” With the active participation of members of the Bar and community organizations working through several committees, the program's activities include: • hosting field trips to the courthouse for schools and community organizations to observe court proceedings and to meet with judges and court staff; • holding moot courts and mock trials for students; • developing educational resources for teachers about the law and justice system; developing learning centers; • creating library labs for students; • coordinating Constitution Day/Citizenship Day programs; • supporting essay contests; • sponsoring adult education programs in such areas as financial literacy; • fostering jury service; and developing a speaker’s bureau whereby judges and members of the Bar visit the schools and community organizations to discuss the work of the courts. 
 Judge Katzmann is quoted in the article as saying “The vitality of our governmental institutions, of our courts, depends upon understanding by the public and support from the public; that’s critical to what we do. But something like 70 percent of Americans can’t identify the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and ten percent of college graduates think that Judge Judy is a Supreme Court Justice. That gives you a sense of the context.”

 On September 23, 2016, in his judicial role, Judge Katzmann presided over the “Super Bowl” of naturalization ceremonies where 298 candidates representing 53 countries swore allegiance to the United States. It was the largest naturalization ceremony in the history of Ellis Island. 

 ALA will present Judge Katzmann with the first “American Lawyers Alliance Judicial Civic Education Award” at the Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony on Friday, August 11, 2017 at the Yale Club of New York City. 
The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
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