Court leaders from across country talk civics to Las Vegas students

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to participate

Williamsburg, Va. (July 8, 2011) — Las Vegas children enrolled in the YMCA summer camp are in for a bit more of an education than they realize. They will get a civics lesson taught by court leaders from around the country — and one taught by one of the leading civics-education advocates in the United States, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

On Monday, July 11, some 50 middle-school students will take a "Y" field trip to the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., site of the National Association for Court Management's (NACM) Annual Conference. As part of its conference, NACM regularly provides a community service to its conference's host city. This year's goal is to teach young people about the importance of civics education. 

Justice O'Connor will attend the conference on July 11 to present the first annual Sandra Day O'Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education to South Carolina Chief Justice Jean H. Toal, who is speaking at the conference about how she has advanced civics education in South Carolina public schools.  

As part of that day's activities, students will be treated to two civics lessons from 10:15-11:30 a.m. using two different learning styles. In one, they will learn about the Constitution, one of the lessons in Justice O'Connor's web-based iCivics program. The other lesson will be taught with the use of a graphic novel that teaches how the courts work. The students will read "Justice Case Files 1: The Case of Internet Piracy," which tells the story of a girl who is charged with illegally downloading music. The graphic novels are a project of the National Center for State Courts, which provides executive secretariat work to NACM.

The National Association for Court Management is the largest organization of court management professionals in the world with members from all levels and types of courts. NACM provides court management professionals the opportunity to increase their proficiency while working with colleagues to improve the administration of justice.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation's state courts.