from staff
It was the day before former Florida Bar President Hank Coxe was to present a Justice Teaching class at Hyde Park Elementary School in Jacksonville when the school’s principal called to confirm the arrangements.
While Coxe was prepared for his single assignment, the school had prepared for 10 lawyers to show up the next day to teach in each of the 10 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classes.
That’s when Coxe went to work.
“You would be happy to know that — within three hours — 10 Jacksonville lawyers agreed to do it on a half day’s notice with all the Justice Teaching initiative materials,” Coxe wrote to Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, who launched the Justice Teaching program.
Coxe told Justice Lewis he may have “used up a lot of chits” in the expedited recruitment drive to make sure the school was covered, but reported all the volunteers “had a great time.” Coxe also noted Judge Karen Cole was “a great resource for the effort.”
Those in the legal community who stepped up on short notice included Didi Wells, Dan Bean, Jake Schickel, Courtney Grimm, Amanda Ferrelle, Bryan Gowdy, Duval County Court Judge Roberto Arias, Jacksonville Bar Association Past-president Joe Camerlengo and Kevin Cook.
Justice Teaching volunteers are always needed to partner with local schools. Training is held throughout the year.
The Justice Teaching Program was created because state and national surveys frequently suggest that Americans, in general, know little about the operation of the American justice system, and they do not understand the basic principles underlying constitutional institutions and structures.
With this in mind, in 2006 a major effort was undertaken to further law-related education in the State of Florida, which was name “Justice Teaching,” an initiative of then Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis.
The ultimate goal of this program is to pair a legal professional with every elementary, middle, and high school in the state of Florida.
The program aims to benefit students in the following ways: promote an understanding of Florida’s justice system and our laws, develop critical thinking abilities and problem solving skills, and demonstrate the effective interaction of our courts within the constitutional structure. Justice Teaching is governed by a Select Committee. Appointed by then-Chief Justice Lewis, the members of the Select Committee consist of judges from each of Florida’s five appellate districts and twenty judicial circuits.
In addition, the Select Committee membership includes representatives of The Florida Bar, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, and the Florida Law Related Education Association. The District Courts of Appeal judge from each of the five districts will serve as the lead contact for that region.