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Show 6B The Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, May 2, I6 jliLets Wipe Out Constitutional Illiteracy, Says Justice By Dawn Tracy Tribune Staff Writer Constitutional illiteracy" jeopar-yLze- s J individual freedoms Knowledge of constitutional principles a reduction in crime, less governmental abuse and the surviv- a pluralistic, democratic soc iety 1li)f on the rule of law ! ' Tliat was Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham's message at a Law Day luncheon Thursday at the Westin Hotel Utah She said polls suggest Americans must redouble efforts to learn constitutional ruptions have contributed to widespread apathy toward governmental processes and a cynicism about democratic ideals, said Justice Durham A constitutional must occur or "we may lose our future The Constitution of the United States made us a nation. Its protections of individual freedoms and its careful allocation of powers to prevent arbitrary governmental action from destroying those freedoms have kept us a nation." There is a need for such an effort major poll taken several years ago questioned people about their approval or disapproval of the contents of the Bill of Rights, without identifying the language as coming from the Constitution," she said "It is disturbing enough that the results showed a high percentage of disapproval It is far more disturbing that so few of the people questioned recognized the language as being a part of the Constitu- Students participating in mock-tria- l competition have obtained "constitutional literacy, she said "They understand about things like the presumption of innocence, the guarantees of a fair trial, and the protections each of us has when dealing with the government When they are old, they will be capable of sustaining and defending" constitutional principles Those principles are the "bedrock or our past, our present and our future Teaching our children these thngs is not an optional frill it is essential to our survival as a people " In other Law Day activities, state Sen Warren Pugh was awarded the 19(6 Liberty Bell Award Ogden High School and Mount Logan Junior High captured top honors in mock-tria- l competition Law W?ek activities were sponsored by the Utah State Bar. Satanic Holiday Spooked Residents, Police Sa - Rumors CASTLE DALE (APj of letters threatening kidnapping and sacrifice accompanying the satamc holiday of May Eve. April 30. doubled school absenteeism and tied up the sheriffs office phones, officials said Sheriff Lamar Guymon said Wednesday night that his office had received reports of "dozens and dozens of threatening letters "We have three incoming phone lines I don't think there wasn't a time they weren't all lit up all day long," he said Schools Superintendent Dennis Nelson of Ferron said absenteeism Wednesday among the 3 400 pupils was 17 percent, about double the usual Guymon said there were no threatening letters, "just rumors. Nothing but rumors " Guymon said there are satamsts in the county "but if there are over eight. I d be surprised, and the extent to which they're involved is questionable. A me SB (si tion " The Constitution guarantees that no individual holds all power It also means automatic checks against "attempts by any governmental official to overstep the bounds of his authority. It means the right to criticize any even the presgovernment official ident of the United States without fear of reprisal, said Justice Durham, quoting from a book by former U S Solicitor General Rex E. Lee. "It means a government that must deal with its people according to minimum standards of equality and fairness," she said. "It means a government whose powers derive from the people and in which the ultimate powers are exercised by the people. Justice Durham said a recent nationwide study conducted by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention suggested d that education courses may reduce juvenile crime. The study, involving 323 high school students in six communities, found that d after programs had been implemented, students increased, while student violence decreased. law-relate- law-relate- self-estee- Compared with students in control d groups, youngsters in education classes committed fewer thefts, fewer acts of violence and fewer violations of school rules. Such evaluations show that students and teachers who receive instruction in subjects do learn how ' The system really functions, and do tend to believe they can make a difference in it, she said. law-relate- law-relate- d education isn't deto produce junior lawyers, nor signed it a warmed-ove- r version of the civics classes many of us recall with little enthusiasm." Rather, it is "the active demonstration of rights, responsibilities and reasoning that have been described as the new three Rs of education. Law-relate- d old-sty- le - Quoting Proverbs 22 6, Justice Durham said: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it. Economic concerns and social dis- - Law Cited Seat-Be- lt In Saving Driver From Serious Injury A Salt Lake City woman was grateful Thursday night that she started wearing her seat belt recently. Linda Hamala. 22, 858 N. Oak Tree Court, was eastbound on 2100 South about 900 West at 5.45 p.m. when she lost control of her car, which slid sideways into the medium, rolled and landed on its wheels, said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Doug Hall. The contents of the car were spread throughout the median, as was shattered glass from the vehicle's windows. But Ms. Hamala escaped with only minor glass cuts in her left hand. She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, treated and released. Trooper Hall said. He noted that Ms. Hamala and her husband said they wore their seat belts only occasionally, but decided Jto become consistent users after J reading about the new state law mandating use of belts in moving veh- J v icles. "This is a real good seat belt survi-Jvo- r story, Trooper Hall said. "She gvery likely would have been thrown sout of the car or seriously injured if she hadn't been wearing her seat vbelt." No other vehicles were involved, but traffic was slowed by the crash, fbe added. i i NO REFUNDS Rollover Near Vernal 'Claims NO EXCHANGES NO RETURNS NO LAYAWAYS UISfl, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED J 16-Year-- Special to The Tribune A VERNAL Tridell, Uintah County, boy died Thursday morning when the car he was driving rolled near here. Cory Goodrich was pronounced dead at the scene of the single-ca- r accident one mile west of Vernal on Utah 121. According to Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Lloyd Mecham, the driver was driving eastbound on Utah 121 at approximately 7 am. when he apparently lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle rolled and Mr. Goodrich was ejected. The accident is still being 1648,SoutlrMain MONDAYATHRUERIDAYA10,ta9HSAT.URDAYi10:to33 4 |
