Law Law week offers understanding of legal system

Member of ‘Little Rock Nine’ Brings History



To Life for Students

The San Diego County Bar Association and the Lawyer Referral and Information Service are giving county residents an inside look at the field of law.

The organizations will host Law Week from April 28 to May 5, and will provide a forum to give participants a better understanding of the legal system and how it affects everyday lives.

The idea came from what was designated as “Law Day USA” by Congress in 1961. Congress set aside May 1 to allow Americans to “celebrate their liberties and explore the ideals of equality and justice under the law.”

Recognizing the importance of Law Day, the local bar association extended the one-day event into an entire week of community outreach programs to help educate and inform the public about the law and the justice system.

On April 30, there will be a Legal Career Day at Madison High School. Lawyers and legal professionals will outline the nuts and bolts about careers in law.

A family law seminar will be held Tuesday, May 1 to address issues such as custody, visitation, and dissolution of marriage.

A major portion of the weeklong event is the Free Law at Kobey’s on May 5, at Kobey’s Swap Meet at the Sports Arena. Attorneys will be available, at no cost, to provide informal, one-on-one legal consultations with the public.

For more information regarding these events and others scheduled throughout Law Week, call (619) 231-0781.

- – -

History Lesson: Participants in a Black History Month forum at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law took a stroll through time and got a taste of what it was like for nine teen-agers struggling to enter high school.

The problem was seen through the eyes of Terrence J. Roberts, a clinical psychologist and UCLA instructor, who is more notably known as one of a group of students called the “Little Rock Nine.”

Roberts was one of nine African-American students who entered an all-white high school in Little Rock, Ark., more than 40 years ago. The students were sent to Central High School to enforce a school integration order.

Roberts and the eight other students set in motion the school integration movement following the 1954 landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

The Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress, by President Bill Clinton in November.

Growing: The San Diego law firm of Gordon