Nevada Judiciary

The Nevada Supreme Court has won top national honors in the American Bar Association’s 2011 Law Day Outstanding Activity Award competition for the state’s innovative Law Day Live program focusing on the rights of the accused to be represented by lawyers.

Law Day Live was a high-tech, interactive Internet forum created by the Nevada Supreme Court that emphasized the legacy of John Adams, second president of the United States.

Panels in three Nevada courtrooms and a film producer in Washington D.C. were video linked onto a single screen in a public webcast to discuss the rights of those charged with crimes to have legal counsel – a position Adams had advocated even before he was elected president when he represented the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre.

“This award from the ABA is a tremendous honor for the Nevada Supreme Court, our justice system, and the educators who helped make this possible,” said Chief Justice Nancy Saitta.  “Law Day Live provided students throughout Nevada, as well individuals across the country, with a unique learning experience.  I am gratified that the ABA has recognized our efforts.”

“The historical references to the challenges of John Adams extended the principles to modern day controversies like the rights of those incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay,” said Justice James W. Hardesty, who led the panel at the Supreme Court in Carson City.  “It was fascinating to watch as the students critically examined competing sides of these current disputes.” 

“No doubt the ABA recognized what we, the judges, lawyers and educators witnessed on Law Day – a thorough, academic review of one of the most important rights we enjoy as citizens by a group of talented, well informed young people,” Justice Hardesty said.

“For the American Bar Association to recognize Nevada’s Law Day Live program with its top honor is particularly gratifying for those of us in Winnemucca who worked so hard on it and benefitted so much from it,” said Sixth Judicial District Judge Michael Montero, who headed the Winnemucca panel.  “Being a rural community 180 miles from the state capital, our participation was only possible through the use of today’s technology and the innovation of Nevada’s Judiciary.  The honor bestowed upon our Supreme Court is well deserved.”

The ABA award plaque will be formally presented to Chief Justice Saitta at the ABA Midyear Meeting on February 3 in New Orleans, La.

While the Nevada Supreme Court won top honors, the ABA also recognized the Connecticut Judicial Branch and Connecticut Bar Association along with the Supreme Court of Missouri for their Law Day programs.

The ABA’s Law Day theme was “The Legacy of John Adams, from Boston to Guantanamo.”  In Las Vegas, Law Day Live featured a live costumed John Adams, who was actually high school history teacher Jeff Hinton, who routinely dresses in costume to bring history to life for his students.  As a history teacher knowledgeable about John Adams, Mr. Hinton was called on during Law Day Live to discuss John Adams’ role in the defense of the British soldiers.

The two-hour Law Day Live webcast May 5, 2011, on the Supreme Court’s website, connected middle and high schools across the state in a live streamed Internet forum to explore the principles that John Adams advocated. Schools throughout Nevada used it as an educational tool. 

In Nevada, courtrooms in Las Vegas, Carson City, and Winnemucca were linked through video conferencing technology.  Film producer Sig Libowitz participated through a video link from Washington D.C.

 “While the Supreme Court spearheaded Law Day Live, its amazing success was the result of the cooperative efforts of a number of judicial and educational entities,” Chief Justice Saitta said.  Those entities included the state and Clark County bar associations, the State Department of Education, the Clark County School District, Project REAL, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the First, Second, Sixth, and Eighth Judicial District Courts.

 Law Day Live began with a showing of Mr. Libowitz’s film The Response, which is a thought-provoking 30-minute courtroom drama about the inner workings of the military tribunals for detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay.

The video was broadcast on the Supreme Court website prior to the panel discussions and available to everyone worldwide with Internet access.

“I was honored to have The Response selected as the centerpiece of Nevada’s Law Day,” said Mr. Libowitz. “The legacy of John Adams and his principled defense of those accused of the Boston Massacre speaks to the power and responsibility of lawyers and advocates to stand up for the rule of law – even under the most difficult of circumstances.”

During Law Day Live, students and the general public were allowed to pose questions or make comments through Twitter and Facebook. More than 100 students were present in the courtrooms and asked questions directly to the panelists.

“I was particularly impressed with the students’ questions and level of interest surrounding the subject matter of the film,” said Mr. Libowitz.  “What Nevada’s Law Day demonstrates is that audiences of all ages have a strong sense of what our American justice system should be and a curiosity to understand and participate in our reactions to a changing world.”

Panels at each location included judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement.  Chief Justice Saitta, who chairs the Supreme Court’s Judicial Public Information Committee, moderated Law Day Live from Las Vegas.

“This event in a state where communities are separated by vast distances was made possible through technology that allows us to shrink those miles and provide services and access to justice for many of our citizens,” Chief Justice Saitta said.

Leading up to Law Day, John Adams promoted Law Day Live on television news shows as well as on the Supreme Court’s Law Day webpage.  John Adams also had his own Twitter and Facebook pages providing information about Law Day.

Between April 1 and June 16, 2011, visitors to the Law Day webpage came from 37 states and 20 countries.