Video from The Virginia Law Foundation's Third Annual Law Day Conference, entitled "Free Speech, Fair Speech, Fear Speech: Civil Discourse in a Volatile World" held Friday, April 30, 2010

Overview

The WJP supports multidisciplinary meetings aimed at strengthening the rule of law in the United States. In individual states across the nation, state and local bar associations, law schools and other local leaders are working in conjunction with the WJP leadership to sponsor state-level multidisciplinary outreach meetings to form multidisciplinary partnerships to strengthen the rule of law at the state and community levels. Participants at these meetings have included business people, community service leaders, educators, health care professionals, judges, lawyers, politicians, and religious figures.

Twenty-two state-level meetings have been held to date, in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington State.

Common concerns voiced at these meetings include:

• Businesses need laws that are clearly stated, reliable, predictable and accessible;
• The rule of law is essential to advancing civil rights;
• Many populations,including the poor, homeless, and other marginalized groups,may not be familiar enough with the rule of law to ask for the rights to which they are entitled. When legal practitioners are made aware of the needs of these groups, they are better able to provide the assistance that people need; and
• Educators should play a role in making the processes of law more understandable to all.

The Connecticut Bar Association held a historic gathering of Connecticut leaders to embrace and strengthen the rule of law. You can download the report here.

For sample materials from past state meetings see below.