CHIEF JUDGE ROBERT A. KATZMANN
NOMINATED TO RECEIVE
“AMERICAN LAWYERS ALLIANCE JUDICIAL CIVIC EDUCATION AWARD”
Since the proposal had been approved by the Board, the TOY Committee nominated The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to be the first recipient of the “American Lawyers Alliance Judicial Civic Education Award.” The nomination was approved by the ALA Board of Directors. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals is in New York City.
Judge Katzmann received his A.B. Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University; A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Government from Harvard and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Judge Katzmann was recently featured in the New York Times (November 10, 2016) for instituting a wide-ranging program called “Justice for All: Courts and the Community.”
With the active participation of members of the Bar and community organizations working through several committees, the program's activities include:
• hosting field trips to the courthouse for schools and community organizations to observe court proceedings and to meet with judges and court staff;
• holding moot courts and mock trials for students;
• developing educational resources for teachers about the law and justice system; developing
learning centers;
• creating library labs for students;
• coordinating Constitution Day/Citizenship Day programs;
• supporting essay contests;
• sponsoring adult education programs in such areas as financial literacy;
• fostering jury service; and
developing a speaker’s bureau whereby judges and members of the Bar visit the schools and community organizations to discuss the work of the courts.
Judge Katzmann is quoted in the article as saying “The vitality of our governmental institutions, of our courts, depends upon understanding by the public and support from the public; that’s critical to what we do. But something like 70 percent of Americans can’t identify the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and ten percent of college graduates think that Judge Judy is a Supreme Court Justice. That gives you a sense of the context.”
On September 23, 2016, in his judicial role, Judge Katzmann presided over the “Super Bowl” of naturalization ceremonies where 298 candidates representing 53 countries swore allegiance to the United States. It was the largest naturalization ceremony in the history of Ellis Island.
ALA will present Judge Katzmann with the first “American Lawyers Alliance Judicial Civic Education Award” at the Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony on Friday, August 11, 2017 at the Yale Club of New York City.