FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: JoAnne Musick, HCCLA President
Office: (832) 448-1148 Cell: (832) 326-8864
email joanne
CONSTITUTION DAY CELEBRATION
PUBLIC READING OF BILL OF RIGHTS & OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Houston, Texas – August 20, 2015 – Please join the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2015 for a brief, public celebration of Constitution Day. HCCLA members will read the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional Amendments on the courthouse steps of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center at 1201 Franklin, Houston, Texas 77002.
This event draws its inspiration from HCCLA’s annual public reading of the Declaration of Independence, which has served as a model for over 100 local criminal defense lawyer organizations engaging in similar yearly readings across Texas.
What: Constitution Day (also known as, “Citizenship Day”) is a federally observed date to commemorate the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 17, 1787. As criminal defense lawyers, HCCLA members fight daily to protect the Constitution and its safeguards, many of which are set forth in amendments to this cherished document. HCCLA wishes to remind citizens of the importance of their Constitutional rights, for which so many have sacrificed and some have paid the ultimate price. HCCLA’s public reading of fundamental rights enshrined in Constitutional amendments—including the first ten, known collectively as the “Bill of Rights”—will be a brief and simple gesture which HCCLA hopes the Houston-area media will cover as a public service.
When: 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2015. Event should last approximately 20-30 minutes.
Where: Front steps of Harris County Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Courthouse) at 1201 Franklin, Houston, Texas 77002 (corner of Franklin and San Jacinto, downtown Houston).
Who: Event is sponsored by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, America’s oldest and largest local organization of criminal defense lawyers, with over 750 members. Public reading of Bill of Rights and other Constitutional Amendments will be led by HCCLA President JoAnne Musick. Event co-organizers are Houston attorneys and HCCLA members: Jennifer Gaut, Philip Gommels, Gemayel Haynes and Grant Scheiner.
What Else: Members of the public who attend this event will receive pocket-sized copies of the United States Constitution. For background information on HCCLA, visit www.hccla.org. For historical background on Constitution Day and information about other celebrations, visit the National Constitution Center at: www.constitutioncenter.org/calendar/constitution-day-2015
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