Law Day -- No courts, no justice, no freedom

  • Published
  • By Capt. Carson Sprott
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Legal Office
Travis Air Force Base, Calif. --  Travis Air Force Base celebrates Law Day Tuesday. Law Day is an annual event originally envisioned as a special national day to mark our commitment to the rule of law. President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958. Law Day was made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official date.

This year's Law Day theme is "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."

"I cannot think of a more relevant theme given today's climate," said Capt. Stephanie Kral, 60th Air Mobility Wing judge advocate and chief of non-judicial punishment. "It certainly gives us an opportunity to give special recognition to our courts and understand their position as keepers of justice and the rights of the American people. The Air Force recognizes that this is important to freedom of people around the world. Just look at the work the Air Force did on rule of law in Iraq and continues to do in Afghanistan. Rule of law has become part of counter-insurgency doctrine."

This year's theme provides an outstanding opportunity for Travis to reflect on the role our courts and judiciary play in good order and discipline.

"We rely on leadership to tell the troops what's right, and we rely on Security Forces and OSI to apprehend individuals engaged in misconduct," said Capt. Brian Harris, 60th Air Mobility Wing judge advocate and chief of military justice. "You add in the courts and judiciary to evaluate outcomes and the system has the full notions of fairness, equity and due process rights provided to us by the U.S. Constitution.

Law Day also provides an opportunity to educate citizens of all ages about the workings of our court system and how our courts guard our rights, he said.

"I'm glad Law Day falls on a day when we are offering legal assistance open hours to the military, their dependents and retirees," said Capt. Jed Wangsgard, 60th AMW judge advocate and chief of civil law. "Many of our customers are preparing to turn to the courts for some form of relief. They have been harmed in some way and are seeking our guidance on how to get relief via the justice system. These folks know that when negotiation fails, our court system is America's way of enforcing fairness and what is right."