Bar association to host People’s Law School at W&J
Go “back to school” with the Washington County Bar Association’s seminar series, the People’s Law School.
The series, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on three consecutive Tuesdays, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, and Oct. 8. The first two will be held at W&J’s Burnett Center in Room 114, and the third session on Oct. 8 will be held in the W&J Commons Ballroom.
Registration is requested by calling the Bar Association at 724-225-6710. The series is co-sponsored by the Washington & Jefferson College pre-law program.
The Sept. 24 program will feature a court system overview presented by Washington County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca and other attorneys and court personnel.
Attendees will learn how the court system is structured, the difference between the criminal justice system and the civil, the function of the “row offices,” and legal resources available to the public.
The Oct. 1 program will feature a selection of topics that have been highly-rated in previous years by People’s Law School participants. In the spirit of the series’ “back to school” theme, the second night’s topics will be all about the “three R’s”: Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic. The “Reading” segment will address topics such as automobile insurance and tort reform; the “‘Riting” segment will examine documents such as wills, powers of attorney and medical advanced directives; and the “‘Rithmetic” segment will explore the consequences of bankruptcy and credit and debt issues.
The Oct. 8 program will feature a screening of the documentary film “Gideon’s Army” and a discussion with Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Katherine Emery, Washington County Public Defender Glenn Alterio, Washington County Assistant District Attorney and former Public Defender Leslie Ridge, and attorney Joyce Hatfield-Wise, who will moderate the discussion.
The program marks the 50th anniversary of “Gideon v. Wainwright”, the U.S. Supreme Court decision which provides for legal representation for criminal defendants.
For more information and to register for the People’s Law School seminar series, contact the Washington County Bar Association at 724-225-6710 or wcba@washcobar.org.