Long-running Law Day program brings students to Yosemite National Park
For the past 12 years, eighth graders in east central California have come together to celebrate Law Day in Yosemite National Park.
These students attend small schools in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and have little access to outside educational resources, says Douglas Gordon, the co-chair of Yosemite Law Day, who helps organize the annual event. Despite living nearby, many of them have never been to Yosemite National Park.
“These are rural kids,” says Gordon, an attorney with Miles, Sears & Eanni in Fresno, the largest city in the area. “They are not the ones who are included in other kinds of programs necessarily, because they are so remote.
“So it’s really cool to bring them in, show them they’re important, teach them something about civics and let them see the beautiful park.”
Law Day is held annually on May 1 to recognize the rule of law in our society and encourage a greater understanding of the legal profession.
ABA President Bill Bay introduced this year’s Law Day theme, “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One,” during a virtual program in March. “These days we spend so much time talking about what divides us,” Bay said during the program. “I believe this is the time to focus on what unites us. It’s hard work, but it’s important work.”
Yosemite Law Day, which is scheduled for May 2, will build on this theme with a keynote presentation by Paul Loeffler. He is the founder of Central Valley Honor Flight, a local organization that honors veterans by sending them to visit their memorial in Washington, D.C. He plans to discuss how people from different backgrounds united during World War II.
Students participating in Law Day met at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park in 2024.More than 250 students are expected to attend Yosemite Law Day, which is hosted by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Gordon says. They will meet in Curry Village, a camp that was established at the base of Glacier Point and Half Dome in 1889. In past years, the event was held in other locations, including Sentinel Bridge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Helena Barch-Kuchta, the other co-chair of Yosemite Law Day, welcomes the students. She hears cases in the Eastern District’s Yosemite Division, which is located inside Yosemite National Park.
Other federal and state judges and lawyers are invited to attend the event, which includes recognizing students who submitted essays, poems or other art related to the Law Day theme.
Gordon also speaks to the students, often emphasizing that Yosemite National Park wouldn’t exist without a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1890.
“Look around you,” Gordon tells them. “Here’s an example of something the U.S. government has done. It’s protected because of our system of laws and our Constitution.”
More opportunities to get involved
Law Day began with the ABA. Then-President Charles Rhyne introduced the idea for a national dedication to the rule of law in 1957, and it was formally established by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower the following year. In 1961, Congress designated May 1 as the official date for Law Day.
The ABA Division for Public Education provides a planning guide for lawyers, educators and community members who want to organize their own Law Day celebrations.
As part of the national commemoration of Law Day, the ABA and Law Library of Congress will host “Constitutions, Unity and the Rule of Law,” a virtual panel discussion on April 24. It will explore how law, and specifically constitutionalism, has been used to promote unity around the world. More information is available here.
The ABA Division for Public Education will broadcast its 2025 Law Day program, “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One,” on May 1. It features retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; Judge Peter M. Reyes Jr. of the Minnesota Court of Appeals; Richard Haass, former president of the Council on Foreign Affairs; Nick Capodice, host of the Civics 101 podcast; Emma Humphries, chief education officer of iCivics; and David McCullough III, co-founder and CEO of the American Exchange Project. Bay and Tommy Preston Jr., this year’s national Law Day chair, also will participate in the program. To register, click here.
Lawyers have other virtual and in-person opportunities to recommit to their shared responsibilities under the Constitution and democratic norms on Law Day.
Checks and Balances Now is a legal and civic education initiative created by Immediate Past ABA president Mary Smith and other lawyers who were inspired by the work of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy. They are leading #ReaffirmTheOath, a nonpartisan grassroots effort to empower lawyers to publicly renew their pledge to the Constitution and rule of law.
“In recent years, we witnessed an alarming erosion of trust in our democratic institutions, including efforts to discredit judges, intimidate election officials and politicize the judiciary,” Smith says. “Lawyers, law firms and public servants have found themselves targeted simply for doing their jobs. #ReaffirmtheOath is a response to these attacks.”
Lawyers can reaffirm their oath during a national webinar or National Law Day of Action event on May 1.
National Law Day of Action, which is organized by Lawyers for Good Government, calls on lawyers to support the independence of the judiciary and legal profession and the rule of law during in-person rallies. They are happening in several cities, including Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; and San Francisco.
For more information about Law Day 2025, visit LawDay.org.
See also:
Attorneys nationwide prepare for Law Day celebrations
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