Efforts from the RCBA, MSBA, and Federal Courts
By The Honorable Jessica Palmer-Denig
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in 2019 that: “Civic education, like all education, is a continuing enterprise and conversation. Each generation has an obligation to pass on to the next, not only a fully functioning government responsive to the needs of the people, but the tools to understand and improve it.” As a result of the steady decline of civics education in America, we now stand “at the crossroads of peril and possibility,”1 making it essential that we renew our commitment to educating young people about our government.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has answered that call by developing the Justice & Democracy Centers of Minnesota. With fundraising assistance from the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the help of many generous donors, the Court opened the first center in its Saint Paul courthouse in 2023. Fundraising for the center in the federal courthouse in Minneapolis is ongoing, and the Court plans to open the Minneapolis center in 2025.
The Saint Paul center includes exhibits on the U.S. Constitution, the branches of government, and Minnesota’s state, federal, and tribal court systems. Other exhibits provide background on landmark court decisions regarding the rights of criminal defendants, free speech, discrimination, and voting rights. Interactive displays ask visitors to consider how they would decide cases and the ways they can engage with the court system and participate in our democracy. Additionally, there is a space for rotating content; the current rotating exhibit focuses on the Duluth lynchings of 1920 and the failure of the rule of law. The Court contemplates that rotating exhibits will travel between the St. Paul and Minneapolis centers.
For school groups on field trips, the Court arranges other activities. Students can tour the courthouse, observe hearings and trials, and meet with judges. A demonstration about the U.S. Marshals Service’s bomb dogs is one of the most popular attractions. School groups may also receive bussing and substitute teacher grants to defray the cost of field trips. The Court can host groups of up to 150 participants at a time and it hopes that the centers in St. Paul and Minneapolis will ultimately see 5,000 visitors each year, including student groups, adult educators, and members of the public.
Educating teachers is another important component of the Court’s civics work. The Court has developed lesson plans that align with Minnesota’s middle and high school social studies standards, including lessons on voting rights, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, racial discrimination, and the Duluth Lynching of 1920. The Court also provides direct support to teachers by offering a free summer teacher institute each August for middle and high school teachers. This year’s program will be held on August 13, 2024, on the topic of free speech and the First Amendment in the classroom. Teachers can receive continuing education credit for the seminar, and the Court is also providing meals and a $200 stipend.
The RCBA encourages you to visit the center in St. Paul yourself, and if you know teachers or have children in middle or high school, please pass along information about the center and the Court’s programming. The St. Paul center is open for walk-in visits from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and field trips can be scheduled through the Justice & Democracy Center’s website: https://justicedemocracycentersmn.org/visit-a-center/plan-a-field-trip/
The RCBA’s Youth Civics Initiative’s programming is also in full swing. Volunteers have read Sara Rose: Kid Lawyer to 21 elementary school classrooms this school year and have answered kids’ questions about being a lawyer and how the court system works. We are planning our content for next year’s program and have received a book recommendation, Sofia Perez, Future Prez, which is part of a series of books called The Questioneers. Do you have a book recommendation for us to consider? Please let us know.
The Law Day Essay and Art Contest is also underway. The American Bar Association’s 2024 Law Day theme is “Voices of Democracy.” We have asked students in 5th–12th grade to submit essays and artwork based on this prompt:
Our country’s electoral process provides an avenue for all of us to participate in political decisions and policies that affect our lives. We ensure that we have a government “by the people” when we pay attention to events in our communities and our country, vote and engage with those who represent us, and have honest and respectful conversations about the issues we face. What issues are important to you and how can you contribute to civil dialogue on those issues? Are there ways that you might advance your concerns through the electoral process or by contacting your elected representatives? What can you do to help strengthen our system of democracy?
Second Judicial District Chief Judge Leonardo Castro will host our awards ceremony for students on May 14, 2024, in his courtroom at the Ramsey County Courthouse. We’d love for you to attend and celebrate the students’ work. Please enter the courthouse before 4:30 p.m., our ceremony will begin at 5:00 p.m.
As always, if you are interested in becoming involved in the RCBA’s civics work, please reach out to our bar liaison Sabina Zeenat at szeenat@mnbars.org. You can also check out the Youth Civics Initiative's webpage here.
Finally, the MSBA Signature CLE Committee and the Ramsey County Law Library will present a CLE from noon to 1:30 pm on May 8, entitled Law Day 2024: Voices of Democracy. The CLE will feature presentations by Professor Jason Marisam from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, General Counsel Bibi Black of the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, and David Triplett, Deputy Director of Ramsey County’s Office of Property Tax, Records, and Election Services. Please join us to learn about updates in election law, voting initiatives in Minnesota, and how state and local election officials are preparing for the 2024 elections. The program is free for RCBA members and law students. Others can attend free with the code 2024LawDayRCBA at checkout. Please register and spread the word about this program.
Hon. Jessica Palmer-Denig is an Administrative Law Judge at the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings. She is a member of the RCBA’s Board of Directors, and she co-chairs the RCBA Youth Civics Initiative and the MSBA Signature CLE Committee.
Notes
1. Educating for American Democracy (EAD), Educating for American Democracy: Excellence in History and Civics for All Learners, iCivics (Mar. 2, 2021), https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Educating-for-American-Democracy-Report-Excellence-in-History-and-Civics-for-All-Learners.pdf (last visited 3/28/24).