By Marion Filler
Law Day, May 1, is not well known. But those in the profession — and those who want to be — are well aware of its significance.
“It’s not merely a day on the calendar, it’s a celebration of the very foundation upon which our society is built: Justice, equality, and the rule of law,” Superior Court Judge James DeMarzo, Family Presiding Judge for Morris and Sussex counties, said in a ceremony Wednesday at the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown.
His words were directed at the seven-person team from West Morris Mendham High School, the winning school representing Morris County in the recent Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition.
Ever since Law Day was established by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958, the American Bar Association has selected a theme to spotlight how the law impacts our society. This year it focused on the “Voices of Democracy,” explained DeMarzo.
“How might we use our voices to better understand our changing world and each other?” he asked. “And how can contemporary leaders and everyday citizens raise their voices and work together to refine the promise of democracy?”
Both he and retired Appellate Division Judge Mary Gibbons Whipple, the keynote speaker, agreed that for a democracy to work, every voice must be heard.
“This is a vast topic,” said Whipple, who gave a short history lesson illustrating how the right to vote is the most direct way to effectively use that voice.
New Jersey got off to a great start when it wrote its first State Constitution in 1772, just a few years before the Revolutionary War.
It was surprisingly inclusive, granting voting rights to “all inhabitants of this colony” who were of age, had 50 pounds of assets and resided in their county for 12 months before an election. Neither sex nor race was an issue.
It was too good to be true, and by 1807 the Legislature passed a “reform” act to take it all back. Only white male citizens, regardless of income, retained the right to vote.
“It had become apparent that Black men, women, and immigrants were excellent fodder for the political theater of fear and outrage,” said Whipple. “And so,” she continued with arm outstretched, “there arose assertions of……..voter fraud.”
Men were accused of voting once, then running home to don a wig and pose as a woman for the second time around. From more recent times, Whipple recalled the late Gov. Brendan Byrne wryly stating: “When I die, I want to be buried in Hudson County so I can remain active in politics.”
Whipple cited the long battle for women’s suffrage, which was not in effect until 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. Mississippi withheld its ratification until 1984.
“New Jersey, to its credit, has put extensive measures in place to protect the election infrastructure from threats and fraud,” she recalled. “We have made it easier to vote, we have early voting, we have mail in voting, we have protection for poll workers and protection against voter intimidation as well as judicial review.”
Voting rights still face many threats, including misinformation and misuse of the law, but apathy is the gravest danger, Whipple said.
“We must protect the vote by urging people to use it,” she said, addressing the mock trial winners. “When you are eligible to register to vote, bring an eligible friend and get her to register to vote with you. Vote!”
Morris County Bar Association President-Elect Christopher F. Schellhorn noted that the Association is 125 years old this year, “and its founders met right here in in Morristown at the Courthouse” to draft by-laws and a constitution that guided the Association for a century.
Then as now, helping clients achieve justice has been the goal, said Schellhorn, who is Morris County’s chief assistant prosecutor. He offered the example of the May 2 expungement clinic, where attorneys offered their services free of charge to members of the community to explore whether certain criminal convictions can be removed from their record.
Morris County Bar Foundation President Lawrence S. Cutalo praised the mock trial team as “promising young leaders” who have learned to build discipline and present skilled arguments.
“Voices of Democracy” is a reminder of the unique heritage we have in America where every citizen has a voice in governing the nation,” Cutalo said.
