Community Education and Outreach
The purpose of community education and outreach is two-fold:
- To establish a community presence which engenders understanding and support for restorative justice principles and alternative dispositions within the justice system.
- To build long-term sustainability of these community justice efforts.
Please join Justiceworks, Ltd. and friends for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration event on Monday, January 18th , 7:00 p.m., at the Stevens Point Senior High School Auditorium, 1201 North Point Drive, Stevens Point, WI. The event is free and open to the public. Keynote speaker, William Fulton J.D., will talk about his experience as a teenager living with civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and working in the civil rights movement. Musical guests include the Stevens Point Senior High School Concert Choir, PJ Jacobs Choir, Barbershoppers, and dance performance by Dance Education Center. The John Klismet Justiceworks award will be presented to 2010 award recipient Charles Fernandez. Refreshments follow the program. Donations to support the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration, will be taken at the door.
2009 Constitution Day Symposium
Judicial Elections: Navigating the Collision Course will be a full-day conference on September 17 featuring speakers, breakout sessions and a panel discussion. The conference is sponsored by Justiceworks, Ltd., the Portage County Bar Association, UWSP Political Science and Continuing Education Departments and will be held at the Holiday Inn in Stevens Point.
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is scheduled to attend. Click the above link for more information including the conference website that contains a complete brochure, online registration and scholarship information.
Call Justiceworks, Ltd. at 715-344-3677 for more information.
The History of Constitution Day (an excerpt from About.com)
On September 17, 1787, forty-two of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day, to sign the Constitution of the United States of America.
Since May 25, 1787, the 55 delegates had gathered almost daily in the State House Independence Hall in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. By the middle of June, it became apparent to the delegates that to merely amend the Articles of Confederation would not be sufficient. Instead, they would write an entirely new document designed to clearly define and separate the powers of the central government, the powers of the states, the rights of the people and how the representatives of the people should be elected.
After being signed in September of 1787, Congress sent printed copies of the Constitution to the state legislatures for ratification. In the months that followed, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay would write the Federalist Papers in support, while Patrick Henry, Elbridge Gerry, and George Mason would organize the opposition to the new Constitution. By June 21, 1788, nine states had approved the Constitution, finally forming "a more perfect Union."
No matter how much we argue about the details of its meaning today, in the opinion of many, the Constitution signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written. In just four hand-written pages, the Constitution gives us no less than the owners' manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known. We have no tribal council, nor can we vote anybody off the island. But, we do live in the land of the free, and as long as the Constitution stands, we always will.
Petition in Support of a Corrections Policy to Reduce Recidivism Rate of Crime in Portage County
Justiceworks is pleased to announce that the Petition in Support of a Corrections Policy to Reduce Recidivism Rate of Crime in Portage County was passed as a policy resolution by the Portage County Board of Supervisors at the October 21, 2008 meeting. The resolution commits Portage County leadership to a decision-making policy that supports the reduction of crime in Portage County. Justiceworks thanks our friends and supporters who helped collect signatures for the petition and attended the county meeting in support of the resolution.
Past Community Events
National Law Day Event
April 28, 2009
Justiceworks hosted the community event "The Opportunity of Crisis" on April 28 in recognition of National Law Day, 2009. The featured speaker was the Honorable Judge Edward R. Brunner, Appellate Judge, District III Court of Appeals. See the poster here.
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
Please plan to attend the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebrationon Monday, January 19, 2009 from 7:00 -8:30 p.m. at the Stevens Point Area Senior High School, 1201 Northpoint Drive, Stevens Point, WI.
The program will feature Dr. Jeremi Suri as keynote speaker. In 2007, Dr. Suri was named by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of America’s “Top Young Innovators” in the humanities and sciences. Dr. Suri will address the significance of the civil rights movement and examine the historical meaning of the civil rights movement within the context of current events. Also included in the program is music from the SPASH choir, hip hop group “Rhymz Suhreal” and special music commissioned for the event from composer Will Louis-Brux.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration supports restorative justice principles by educating our area youth and communities to the significance of the civil rights movement and the importance of equal justice opportunities. In addition, the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration encourages community members to participate in local restorative justice initiatives. This interfaith-based restorative justice event is growing due to the support of many interfaith and multi-cultural organizations in Portage County.
Please feel free to call us for more information regarding this event or to ask how you can get involved.
Events in Portage County leading to the 50th anniversary of Law Day (May 1, 2008)
Monday, April 28th, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Justiceworks Community Law Week Kick-Off Event: Community Restorative Justice Response for Opportunity and Equity under the Law.
Portage County Annex Building. Conference Room 5, 1462 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point
Special guest speakers: Listen to community members from the Riverside House relate personal stories of tragedy and triumph in dealing with and overcoming alcohol and drug addiction. Learn how drug and alcohol addiction problems contribute to growing problems within the justice system. Enjoy refreshments and music. All community members welcome.
Sponsored by Justiceworks, Ltd.
Tuesday, April 29th, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion "Portage County Justice and You"
Dreyfus University Center, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Introductory Remarks: Honorable Judge Frederic Fleishauer: “The Rule of Law: Community Justice in Balance”
Panel discussion with members from the justice system to address community questions regarding the legal process and our community response to crime. All community members welcome.
Sponsored by League of Women Voters of the Stevens Point Area, UWSP Student Legal Society, Portage County Bar Association and Justiceworks,Ltd.
Wednesday, April 30th: Noon.-1 p.m.
Community Brown Bag Luncheon: “The McDonald’s Coffee Spill Verdict”
Presentation by Attorney David Sunby, Habush, Habush & Rottier SC
Pinery Room, Portage County Library
Learn what really happened in the infamous personal injury case involving a woman who went through a McDonald’s drive thru and spilled hot coffee in her lap. All community members welcome.
This presentation is also available to area civic organizations during the month of May.
Call Brenda K. Sunby at 800-248-0171 for more information.
Sponsored by Portage County Bar Association
April 28-May 2
Attorneys in the Classroom: Dialogue on the Rule of Law
Attorneys and judges from the county will go into our local schools to lead junior high and high school students in dialogues on the Rule of Law. Call Donna Ginzl at 344-0890 or Jenifer Binder at 341-7855 for more information.
Sponsored by Portage County Bar Association and Justiceworks, Ltd.
Thursday, May 1, Noon-1 p.m.
Portage County Legal Aid Society Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
Thank you luncheon for PCLAS volunteers and PCLAS/Justiceworks Family Law Information Center volunteers
Sponsored by Portage County Legal Aid Society
Friday, May 2, Noon-2 p.m.
Family Law Information Center Grand Opening.
Justiceworks, Ltd. Office, 1547 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point. The FLIC is now open and serving all members of the community as a resource center for legal process information. All community members welcome.
Sponsored by Portage County Legal Aid Society and Justiceworks, Ltd.
November, 2007:
Restorative Justice Education Program at UWSP
Justiceworks sponsored a LIFE (Learning is Forever) University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point extension education program 3-part class examining the philosophy of crime and response to crime, problems in the practices of the justice system and restorative justice community programs.
Restorative justice attempts to refocus the justice system by emphasizing the harm caused to victims, the community, and offenders rather than on the law that was broken. Furthermore, it seeks to put things right rather than to punish. Explanation and discussion with active members of legal and social work professions will include theories of community justice and local proposals to enhance and reform our criminal justice system.
Leaders: Richard Feldman and Katherine Munck
7:15 p.m., Tuesdays, November 6, 13, 20
For more information: www.uwsp.edu/conted (Click on arts &Leisure and LIFE)
January, 2008:
Martin Luther King Day Community Celebration
January 21, 2008
7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Charles M. White Memorial Library
Stevens Point
Celebrate the significance of the day by joining us for an educational and enjoyable forum featuring guest speakers: UWSP professor emeritus Paul Mertz and the Honorable Judge Frederic Fleishauer, UWSP vocalists and refreshments. Speaker topics will include: “Martin Luther King’s America in 1955” and “Martin Luther King’s Wisconsin 2008”.