Author: Lindsey Welfley

The Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program is gearing up for the 2021 high school mock trial season and needs judges, attorneys, and non-attorney community members to volunteer for judging panels.

The 2021 mock trial competition will be entirely online. Each team will participate in 2-4 preliminary rounds, followed by a state championship competition.

All trial rounds will be conducted online via Zoom. Judges will need:

• A computer capable of joining a Zoom meeting
• Access to Zoom from the computer’s camera and microphone
• A reliable internet connection capable of handling two-way audio/video communication

Competition dates and times include:

• Preliminary Rounds: Every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. MT, starting Thursday, February 4th and running until Tuesday, March 9th.
• Idaho State Championship: Thursday and Friday, March 18th and 19th with trial rounds beginning at 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. MT

You can sign up using our Online Volunteer Registration Form. If you have any questions, contact Carey Shoufler.

Thanks for helping make this year’s mock trial competition successful for Idaho high school students.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carey Shoufler, Law Related Education Director
(208) 334-4500 or cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov

To celebrate Law Day, the Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program is sponsoring a podcast contest for Idaho high school students. The contest offers students and schools an opportunity to win cash prizes while exploring the importance of the rule of law in the United States.

Students, working individually or in groups, are asked to submit a 5 to 10-minute podcast that ties to the American Bar Association’s 2021 Law Day theme: Advancing the Rule of Law Now. Students can develop their podcasts as a school sponsored project or may work independently to create their submissions. Podcasts are reviewed by a judging panel who scores the entries on content, delivery, and production.

The deadline for submission is Friday, April 16, 2021. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 30. Cash prizes are awarded to the top three entries: $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place.

The 2021 contest includes two new elements. In addition to prizes for students, the teacher (for school sponsored projects) or the school (for independent projects) of the winning student will receive a $500 award. Additionally, students may submit drafts of their podcasts to receive feedback from attorneys who volunteer to review drafts prior to final submission.

For more information about the 2021 Podcast Contest, visit idaholawfoundation.org and click the Law Day link from the main page. For questions, contact Carey Shoufler, Idaho Law Foundation Law Related Education Director, at cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov.

The Idaho Law Foundation is the charitable arm of the Idaho State Bar. As a program of the Foundation, Law Related Education is a statewide civic education program that works to enhance public understanding of the legal system and bring together attorneys and teachers to help students of all ages understand the role of law in a democratic society. For more information, visit idaholawfoundation.org.

Established in 1958 by President Eisenhower, Law Day is celebrated every year on the first day of May. It’s designed to help people better understand the law and our legal system and is centered on a different theme each year to spotlight important aspects of the law. For more information, visit the American Bar Associations’ Law Day website.

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In light of increasing proximity to the fall and ongoing concerns related to COVID-19, we have decided to postpone the Citizens’ Law Academy this year.

If you have questions, please visit the Citizens’ Law Academy website or contact Carey Shoufler.

The Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program is proud to announce that three Idaho students were selected for prizes in the Foundation’s annual Law Day Podcast Contest. Student podcasts explored the 2020 Law Day theme celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment. Podcasts focused on a quote from Susan B. Anthony: “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” The prompt asked students to examine the importance of voting rights.

The top three student entries include:

• First Place: Elinor Smith, Borah High School, Boise. Elinor is a senior. Her podcast focused on the importance of youth voting. She said she spent over 3 months working on her podcast and that “the best thing about making a podcast or doing any sort of journalism is that you don’t have to know anything about anything. The host puts themselves in the place of the listener and learns new things to share with listeners.” Next year Elinor will attend the University of Montana where she plans to study journalism.
• Second Place: Sophia Willmorth, One Stone, Boise. Sophia is a ninth grader. Her podcast explored what voters’ rights have looked like throughout the history of the United States. She said, “I decided that I wanted to answer the prompt by retelling the stories of some of the original suffragettes that I felt were integral to the passing of the 19th Amendment.”
• Third Place: Marilla Story, Logos School, Moscow. Marilla is a tenth grader. She decided to create her podcast because her history class was studying voting rights and she found the topic fascinating and important. She also loved being able to incorporate music from the time period into her submission.

The Law Day Podcast Contest is open to Idaho high school students. Entrants submitted 5 to 10-minute audio podcasts and could create their podcast individually or in groups of 2 or 3. The contest was sponsored by the Richard C. Fields American Inn of Court. Their sponsorship allowed the Foundation to award the top three entries prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250, respectively.

Podcasts were critiqued by a panel of judges that included educators and attorneys. The judges scored the submissions on content, delivery, and production. One of the judges, Cindy Wilson said, “Creative educational activities like this contest provide the best opportunities for young people to learn how to have their voices heard in their communities. That’s exactly what we saw in the excellent entries we judged; our future is in good hands with these students.”

The Idaho Law Foundation would like to thank our sponsors and judges for their support of the Podcast Contest. We appreciate their dedication to advancing civic education in our state.

The entries can be accessed by clicking the button below. For more information about the Law Day Podcast Contest, contact Carey Shoufler, Idaho Law Foundation Law Related Education Director, at cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov.

About Law Day: Established in 1958 by President Eisenhower, Law Day is celebrated each year on May 1 to help Americans better understand the law and our legal system. Each year, Law Day is centered on a different theme to spotlight an important aspect of the law.

About the Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program: Founded in 1974, the Idaho Law Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the Idaho State Bar. As a program of the Idaho Law Foundation, Law Related Education is a civic education program that works to educate the public about the role of law in a democratic society.

The Law Day 2020 theme is “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100.” In 2019-2020, the United States is commemorating the centennial of the transformative constitutional amendment that guaranteed the right of citizens to vote would not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex. American women fought for and won, the vote through their voice and action. Find more ABA Law Day information and activities here!

The national theme for Law Day 2020 is “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100.” In 2020, we are commemorating the centennial of the ratification of this transformative constitutional amendment.

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