This fall, WJH attorneys were proud to partner with state and federal judges to volunteer with Operation Protect and Defend (“OPD”).
Since 2001, OPD has served as a non-partisan, collaborative program supported by lawyers and judges committed to fostering democratic principles in the next generation through civic education in public schools. Once a year, OPD partners judges and lawyers in classrooms to lead a discussion about how Constitutional issues such as due process and free speech operate and impact our lives. The curriculum for 2018 focused voting rights conferred by the 14th Amendment and how voting rights have changed from the Civil Rights Act to today.
OPD expanded to Fresno in 2017. This year, WJH attorneys Patrick D. Toole, Rebecca S. Maddox, Nicolas R. Cardella, Steven K. Vote, Rocco DiCicco, and Ylan H. Nguyen joined other members of the Fresno County Bar and judges to teach in 30 classrooms, reaching over 1,100 students in Roosevelt High School, McLane High School, CART, and Edison High School. If you are an attorney or judge and would like to get involved in 2019, please contact Alyson Berg at alyson.berg@usdoj.gov.