LAW DAY TO HONOR J.R. CLIFFORD AND FEATURE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STAR ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:		CONTACT:
April 28, 2004		Michelle T. Mensore
		(304) 720- 0342

LAW DAY TO HONOR J.R. CLIFFORD AND FEATURE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STAR ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE

Charleston, W.Va. - The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia will celebrate Law Day on Friday, April 30, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston. This year’s national Law Day theme is "To Win Equality By Law: Brown v. Board of Education at 50."

"This year’s Law Day celebration commemorates one of the most historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions that ended segregated public schools and government-sanctioned segregation generally," Chief Justice Elliott E. Maynard said. "We hope to educate as many West Virginians as we can through Law Day activities."

As part of the Supreme Court’s Law Day celebration, there will be a special ceremony at 11:30 a.m. to posthumously honor West Virginia’s first black attorney John Robert "J.R." Clifford.

South Charleston High School basketball star Alexis Hornbuckle, who has been recruited by the University of Tennessee, also will make remarks. Hornbuckle is the 2004 Student Sports National Player of the Year.

The public is invited to attend the special ceremony as well as a variety of Law Day activities. Activities will include a Legal Information Fair with various state agencies, law enforcement, law firms and other legal organizations, Supreme Court tours, entertainment, and food booths. The festivities will be in the courtyard between the East and West Wings of the Capitol Complex, and will move to the Lower Rotunda area in case of rain.

The Supreme Court also will display winning photographs from its third annual "Images of Freedom" photography competition open to all West Virginia students from kindergarten through high school. The Law Day photography contest winners from the high school division are: Megan Woody, Big Creek High School, War; Eden Muncy, Big Creek High School, War; Carrie Osborne, Big Creek High School, War.

The winners for the middle school division are: Moorefield Middle School Eighth Grade West Virginia History Class, Moorefield; Rachel Pitzer, Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School, Hambleton; Joshua Lipscomb, Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School, Hambleton.

The winners for the elementary school division are: Allene Conner, Eastbrook Elementary, Winfield; Elizabeth Adams, Wirt County Primary School, Elizabeth; and Tommy McQuain, Sacred Heart Grade School, Charleston.

Organizations or individuals who would like to participate in or have questions about the Supreme Court’s Law Day activities should contact Special Projects Counsel Julie Palas at (304) 558-0145 or at juliepalas@courtswv.org . Exhibit forms and other Law Day information are available on the Supreme Court Web site at www.state.wv.us/wvsca/lawday/covercss.htm .

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