Gail Ehrlich, Co-Chair of the Committee on Law, Youth, and Citizenship of the New York State Bar Association. Courtesy photo
The Importance of Civics Education in the Legal Field
Gail Ehrlich, co-chair of the Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship, writes: Recognizing that civics education is crucial to the rule of law and the preservation of our democracy—that a lack of a civically educated and involved citizenry is a threat to judicial independence, separation of powers and constitutional principles—we felt obliged, as the largest voluntary state association of lawyers in the nation, to face the crisis head on.
Gail Ehrlich, Co-Chair of the Committee on Law, Youth, and Citizenship of the New York State Bar Association. Courtesy photo
"We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside. In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public's need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital."
These are the words of Chief Justice John Roberts in his 2019 U.S. Supreme Court report. According to a Pew Research study, only 28% of respondents know who he is.
The Pew study indicated 51% of Americans think we don't need to live in a democracy—because they say it doesn't work. Almost the same number would accept a government ruled by one individual, in other words, an autocracy.
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Gail Ehrlich, Co-Chair of the Committee on Law, Youth, and Citizenship of the New York State Bar Association. Courtesy photo
