YOUTH SUMMITS

In March and April, three Youth Summits were held in three areas of the state as part of the work done by the State Bar's Citizenship and Law Related Education Committee. A financial grant had been received from the American Bar Association so that these three all-day meetings could be held to inform high school students of their rights and responsibilities under the law.

The Summits were held in Charleston, Keyser and Lewisburg. Approximately three-hundred persons attended the sessions with the vast majority of them being students, but also including teachers, lawyers, law enforcement officials, probation officers, social workers and others. Each of the three Summits was an outstanding success.

In Charleston, where Citizenship and Law Related Education Committee Chairperson Michele Grinberg was the moderator, Supreme Court Chief Justice Larry Starcher was the main speaker. The students present discussed issues of interest to them in great detail. Betty Knighton from the National Issues Forum in Charleston, led some of the discussions.

In Keyser, the main speaker was Circuit Court Judge Phil Jordan. There were high school students present from several counties in that area. It was a major coordinated effort to assist the young people in learning about legal issues affecting them.

In Lewisburg, Circuit Court Judge was the featured speaker to explain various legal matters to the persons in attendance. A diverse group talked about legal matters and also had a presentation made to them by Betty Knighton of the National Issues Forum.

The Citizenship and Law Related Education Committee consists of State Bar members and teachers from throughout the state. The significant planning and work at the three Youth Summits were done by teacher members of the Committee - Barbara Christo and Vicki Wood in Charleston, Jennie Shaffer and Sherri Tokarz in Lewisburg. The Committee will be undertaking other projects in the area of law related education in the months to come.