Alabama State Bar Announces 2010 Law Day Poster & Essay Contest Winners

Montgomery, Ala., April 19, 2010 – As the nation celebrates Law Week, Alabama students shared their thoughts on this year's theme: 'And Justice for All' through creative expressions of art and the imagery of the written word.

With nearly 200 entries, judges of the Alabama State Bar's Law Day 2010 annual competition came away with a vivid impression of what our legal system means to Alabama's youth. Visitors to the bar's Web site can view winning entries on the Law Day 2010 page of the bar's website.

State Bar President Thomas J. Methvin of Montgomery (Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.) said, "This year's theme, "And Justice for All" is especially meaningful because our goal is to make access to justice in Alabama a priority. Advocating on behalf of people living in poverty remains a core mission of the legal profession. It is our responsibility to be a part of making Alabama a leader in ensuring true access to justice for all."

Students from one school, Edgewood Academy in Elmore, took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place honors in the poster category for grades K-3 and students from Bear Exploration Center took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place honors in the poster category for grades 4-6.

Winners will be recognized Friday, April 30 at a special ceremony to be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Alabama Supreme Court. Following the presentation of awards by Judge Tommy Bryan, Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, students and their guests will be treated to a special luncheon at the State Bar Center.

The poster and essay contests are divided into two categories – grades K-6 for posters; grades 7-12 for essays. Winners in the essay contest receive U.S. Savings Bonds in the amounts of $200, $150 and $100 respectively; winners in the poster contest receive bonds in the amounts of $125, $100 and $75.

All winners receive engraved gold medals and award certificates. Schools of all winners receive certificates and teachers of the winners receive a $25 contribution per award for use in their classrooms.

Judges for the poster contest were: Law Day Committee Co-chairs Holly Alves, Mobile (Leavell Investments) and Ashley Swink, Mobile (Lyons, Pipes & Cook); Tommy Klinner, Montgomery (Ala. Dept. of Mental Health & Retardation); Debra Hansen, Montgomery (Legal Services Alabama); Craig Baab, Montgomery (Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Inc.); Christy Crow, Union Springs (Jinks, Crow & Dickson, PC); Valerie K. Chittom, Selma, sole practitioner. Judges for the essay contest were: Capt. Benjamin Henley, Judge Advocate General's Corps, Maxwell Air Force Base; Alvin Benn, columnist, The Montgomery Advertiser and Capt. Sophia Crawford, Judge Advocate General's Corps, Maxwell Air Force Base.

The 16,000-member Alabama State Bar is dedicated to improving the administration of justice, and increasing public understanding and respect for the law.

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List of Winners