by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Some of the world’s best and brightest legal minds visited Jacksonville Tuesday to learn about the American judicial system.
Sponsored by the International Resource Center of Jacksonville through the U.S. Department of State, 25 representatives from 23 countries met in the Duval County Courthouse as part of a three-week national tour that started in Washington, D.C. and will end next month in San Francisco.
Circuit Court judges Jack Schemer, John Skinner and Peter Freyfield as well as State Attorney Harry Shorstein took turns explaining the mechanics of the American judicial system and showcased the various legal programs available in Florida.
“This was a real coup for Jacksonville to host this,” said Sondie Frus, executive director of the IRCJ. “Some of these people are the future leaders of the world. When they’re faced with issues that relate to the U.S. in the future, it will help them understand our way of doing things. Plus, it plants the seeds of future relationships with their countries.”
Attorneys and judges from established and developing countries took part in the tour, both to gain a greater understanding of America’s legal system and also to bring new ideas back to their home countries.
Keomorakoth Sidlankone, assistant to the prosecutor general in Laos, noted the complexity of the American legal system.
“I think the judicial system in the United States if difficult to learn,” he said. “In California, the law is a little different from Florida. It’s not a big difference, but it’s difficult to learn. If you live in Florida and you travel to California, you could [inadvertently] get in trouble.”
Philippine chief public attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta said the U.S. legal system is about 75-80 percent similar to her home country’s, although one big difference exists.
“We don’t have a jury system in the Philippines,” she said. “If you compare your legal system with ours, we have different applications of the law.”
The tour will split into five groups and fly to separate Midwest cities today. They will eventually reunite in California to complete their tour.