HOWLAND - Telling young people how it important it is to get involved in democracy was one of the messages shared by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown, the keynote speaker for the annual Law Day luncheon.
The event is hosted by the Trumbull County Bar Association. This year's theme was ''No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."
Trumbull Bar Association President Jason Earnhart said this is ''absolutely the most important day of the year for the bar association.''
The luncheon is culmination of a month of activities involving local youth including mock trials, a shadowing day and tours of the Trumbull Courthouse by high-school students and poster, essay and multi-media contests for students in first to 12th grades, Earnhart said.
Trumbull Bar Association Vice President Shibani Sheth-Massacci said the day allows local children to be recognized for their work and accomplishments.
"It's also a nice day for those of us in the legal community and elected officials as well. To have an Ohio Supreme Court justice as our speaker adds to the day,'' she said.
Mayor Doug Franklin said he has been impressed to see an association of lawyers reach out to the youth and get them interested in law.
"When I was younger, I wanted to be a lawyer. What they are doing supports and helps our youth,'' he said
McGee Brown, who was elected at age 32 to a common pleas court judgeship in Columbus and is now an Ohio Supreme Court justice, said what is important about Law Week is recognizing the importance of getting the younger generation involved in participatory democracy.
Speaking to the lawyers, she spoke on the importance of the rule of law, the court system and the constitution.
"I was very honored to be invited. I always love to come to the Valley and looked forward to meeting members of the Trumbull County Bar Association,'' McGee Brown said.
She said the individuals who framed the Constitution created a judiciary branch separate from the legislative and executive branches to protect people's rights, and that the document is still relevant to current issues the forefathers could not have predicted.
Recognition included: