DETROIT COUNTRY DAY STUDENT WINS STATEWIDE ESSAY CONTEST SPONSORED BY M-LAW

VIP panel of judges chooses Laurel Roberts’ essay on the importance of jury service for first place honors.

Southfield, MI: 7/13/01: Laurel Roberts, a senior at Detroit Country Day School has received the $1,000 first place prize in a statewide student essay contest aimed at highlighting the importance of jury service. The contest was sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW), a citizen watchdog group working to improve the civil justice system.

    Drawing on the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the daughter of John Roberts and Eva Feldman presented a convincing case for why all citizens should participate in jury duty. The Bloomfield student's essay was selected from 20 finalists in a contest that drew entries from 340 high school seniors throughout Michigan. Roberts is involved in her school newspaper, peer intervention, and Toys for Children Fighting Cancer and will use her winnings to defray the cost of attending Stanford University this fall.

   “M-LAW believes one of the best ways to boost public confidence in our justice system is to increase citizen participation in jury service,” said M-LAW President Robert B. Dorigo Jones. “M-LAW's essay contest has started a dialogue in classrooms and homes throughout Michigan about the critical role juries play in our system. We congratulate Laurel for her fine essay and wish her continued success in her future studies.”

   Judging the essays in M-LAW's contest were Honorable Richard A. Bandstra, Chief Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals; Terence Smith, Editor of the Saginaw News; and Dr. Isaiah McKinnon, former Detroit Police Chief, member of M-LAW’s Board of Directors and author of a new book entitled, Stand Tall.

   Using a “blind” process to ensure impartiality, the 20 essays in the final round were awarded points based on persuasiveness, creativity and grammar. Stacy DeJong of Richland captured second place and $500 for her essay. Third place and $250 went to Meghan Carrier of Traverse City.

   M-LAW is a non-partisan organization of more than 2000 consumers, businesses, professionals, community leaders, entrepreneurs and others working to eliminate the high cost of lawsuit abuse on Michigan families. For more about M-LAW, visit www.mlaw.org, or call 1-888-321-MLAW.