Miss Wisconsin, Miss Madison Judge Student Hearing Competition

MADISON, January 8, 2005 -- The State Bar of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Law Foundation sponsored the 2005 We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution Wisconsin State Hearing competition at the State Capitol in Madison on Saturday, January 8th from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Students from Greenfield, Heritage Christian, Ripon, Wauwatosa and Wisconsin Dells High Schools prepared for the competition by completing a semester instructional program about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The students will answer questions posed by six panels consisting of lawyers, legislators, educational professionals and Miss Madison Kelly Jo Stauffacher and Miss Wisconsin Molly Jean McGrath.

The hearings take place from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The media is invited to attend for interviews at the Capitol at 3:30 p.m. Miss Wisconsin and Miss Madison will present awards to students at the Inn on the Park beginning at 4 p.m.

We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution is an educational program developed and administered by the Center for Civic Education. It is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education and was established in 1987 under the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Wisconsin's program is supported by the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies, the Wisconsin Law Foundation and the Law-related Education Committee of the State Bar. For the past 17 years, this citizenship education program has involved hundreds of Wisconsin students and teachers in the study of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

For more information on the competition, contact Dee Runaas, State Bar of Wisconsin LRE Coordinator at 608/250-6191 or at drunaas@wisbar.org .

The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association, created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license. With more than 21,000 members, the State Bar aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education for its members to help them maintain their expertise, and assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the value of lawyers. For more information, visit www.wisbar.org or www.legalexplorer.com.

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