Colorado Bar Association President's Message to Members
| Publication year | 1993 |
| Pages | 495 |
| Citation | Vol. 22 No. 3 Pg. 495 |
1993, March, Pg. 495. Colorado Bar Association President's Message to Members
On January 24, 1993, Thurgood Marshall, retired Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and renowned civil rights advocate, died. Justice Marshall was a pioneer and eloquent spokesperson for the creation and preservation of individual rights and liberties. As one of the undisputed leaders of this country's desegregation movement, his many achievements were truly remarkable. We will miss his intellect, compassion, wit and commitment to equality and justice for all.
On December 14, 1992, I had occasion to serve as a judge in the state of Colorado's High School Bicentennial Competition. All of the teams that I observed and judged were in the state finals because they had won at the local and district levels. In order to participate in the competition, the teams had to master constitutional law concepts and recite their knowledge in response to random questions that were posed by the judges on topics such as procedural due process, free speech and other issues raised by the Bill of Rights.
After observing the performances of the students, I was very impressed at the scope and breadth of their comprehension of the U.S. Constitution and their ability to express constitutional concepts in understandable terms. It is comforting to know that so many of our students take the law and our Constitution seriously. East High School was the winner of the competition.
In addition to participating in the Bicentennial competition, I taught civics classes at several middle schools and high schools over the past few months. As a part of each of these sessions, the students and I talked about how our system of government was established, how the courts work, the students' perceptions of lawyers and their understanding of the Bill of Rights. Many of our young people believe that one of the principal missions of attorneys is to do good and eliminate injustice. My experiences with young people in the classroom have been inspirational.
At the CBA Board of Governors meeting on January 9, 1993, there was a stimulating and lively discussion about whether...
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