Local Attorneys Celebrate Law Day

One of newly appointed Hardeman County General Sessions Judge Harriet Thompson’s first ideas was to celebrate Law Day at home. Law Day (May 1st) was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 as an opportunity to celebrate our nation's great heritage of liberty, justice, and equality under the law and to celebrate the rule of law. Law Day provides an opportunity to understand how law and the legal process protect our liberty, strive to achieve justice, and contribute to the freedoms that all Americans share. After an introduction from Thompson, local attorneys took turns reading things about the law itself. Joe Van Dyke informed the attendees that civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate in “Three Felonies a Day,” estimates that the average person unknowingly breaks at least three federal criminal laws every day. This year's Law Day theme, “Voices of Democracy,” recognizes that in democracies, the people rule. For nearly 250 years, Americans have expressed their political views and wishes by speaking their minds and voting in elections.