Lawyer on a Skateboard Helps Kids Celebrate Law Day

A North Dakota corporate lawyer wearing her hat backwards and using a skateboard helped some fifth-graders learn more about the role of judges as part of a Law Day demonstration earlier this week.

Michelle Kommer, an in-house lawyer for Otter Tail Corp. in Fargo, played the role of a skateboarder who was arrested for breaking a law banning vehicles in city parks, Inforum reports. “What’s the problem, dude?” Kommer asked during her fake arrest.

Minutes before Kommer’s appearance, the children had worked to define the meaning of “vehicle.” The students were then asked about the intent of the law and whether Kommer had violated it. Kommer played other roles—including a mother pushing a stroller and a city worker driving a garbage truck—and the students were then asked for a ruling.

In Philadelphia, children were invited to city hall courtrooms to watch volunteer judges and lawyers present mock trials based on the fairy tales of "Goldilocks" and "The Three Little Pigs,” KYW Newsradio reports. Lawyer Brian Chacker told KYW that Goldilocks could have been charged with breaking and entering or even theft. But “because we're dealing with elementary school kids she's charged with four counts of bad manners," he said. "The Big Bad Wolf is charged with destruction of property and frightening someone."

The demonstrations were among several events being held this week around the country to mark Law Day, celebrated on May 1 to mark the principles of government under law. The ABA is honoring Abraham Lincoln with the law day theme, “A Legacy of Liberty—Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial,” according to a statement by ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr.

President Obama notes Lincoln’s “dedication to the rule of law and to equality under the law” in a Law Day proclamation.

An interactive map on the ABA’s website reveals Law Day activities by bar associations around the country. The ABA has organized several Law Day sessions in Washington, D.C. this week, including a dialogue on Lincoln at a public school, according to a press release.