For Immediate Release September 17, 2021
For more information, including photos, contact:
Anna Hubbard ahubbard@arkbar.com or 501-801-5680
Arkansas Bar Association Releases Civics Educational Video in honor of Constitution Day
The Arkansas Bar Association (ArkBar) is releasing a video documentary today, “The Grand Experiment—Democracy in Motion,” to help educate Arkansas students and the public about the importance of the Constitution and the rule of law in the United States in honor of Constitution Day. Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. The video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Qwy8Hr3nE.
High school Students Leslie Dixon and Aiden Eslinger begin the video on the front steps of the Arkansas State Capitol by saying: “This may sound strange and you probably don’t know this, but here in America we have been living a grand experiment for approximately 250 years. And what do we call this experiment? We call it democracy. Everyone around the world knows the word now, but back in the 1700s democracy was an experiment. And yes, it still is to this day.”
The video covers several core principles that guide the judicial system: the rule of law, equal justice, a fair and impartial judiciary and trial by jury. The students help explain each topic with analogies that other students can understand while leading Arkansas judges, educators and law makers explain the principles.
“The lawyers of Arkansas bring you this gift so that you will understand the rule of law,” said ArkBar Immediate Past President Paul Keith of Monticello. “Men and women have died on American soil and around the world in defense of the rule of law. The rule of law remains under assault every day and it could become simply a memory in only one generation. We’re counting on you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
We would like to thank the following participants for volunteering their time to make this video possible: Governor Asa Hutchinson; Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp, Arkansas Supreme Court Justices Justice Robin Wynne, Justice Courtney Hudson, and Justice Barbara Webb; Arkansas Court of Appeals Chief Judge Brandon Harrison, Arkansas Court of Appeals Judges Judge Rita Gruber and Judge Waymond Brown; Circuit Judge Carlton Jones; former United States Senator Mark Pryor; Dean Emeritus Cynthia Nance; Professor Anthony McMullen; ArkBar Past President Paul W. Keith; attorneys Chris Hussein and Edith Chavez de Oseguera; and student moderators Leslie Dixon, Parkview High School, and Aiden Eslinger, Conway High School.
We would also like to thank: Administrative Office of the Courts Director Marty Sullivan; ArkBar Board of Trustees; ArkBar President Bob Estes; ArkBar President-Elect Joe Kolb; ArkBar Past President Brian Rosenthal; Legal Related Education Committee Chair Beverly Brister; ArkBar Executive Director Karen K. Hutchins; ArkBar Director of Government Relations Jay Robbins; and Arkansas Supreme Court Public Education Coordinator Karen Tricot Steward.
This video was produced by Steve Narisi, Executive Producer, and Hayot Tuychiev, Director of Photography and Video Editor, The Nastro Group.
About the Arkansas Bar Association
Founded in 1898, the Arkansas Bar Association is the premier legal association in the state. As a voluntary organization of more than 5,000 members, the Association’s primary mission is to support attorneys; advance the practice of law; advocate for the legal profession; foster professionalism, civility, and integrity; and protect the rule of law.
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