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The American Bar Association itself has conducted a comprehensive survey on legal needs. We have found that the sophistication of the general public concerning their legal needs and what to do about their personal legal problems is at a very low level also. Given this troubling state of affairs, the American Bar Association during the past decade has attempted several major programs to, hopefully, promote constitutional and legal literacy among the general public.

Since 1971, our special committee on youth education for citizenship has served as a national catalyst and coordinator for the development of programs and materials in elementary and secondary schools.

You may be familiar with their education in law and juvenile justice-program funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention which is utilizing law-related education to promote legal literacy and reduce juvenile delinquency.

I am pleased to report that an evaluation has been conducted of this program and that the findings suggest that they are accomplishing their goals quite positively.

This special committee is also conducting a special bicentennial project designed to revitalize instruction about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

It is because of that project that members of that special committee are not able to join us here today; because at this very moment they are conducting a program, called a leadership seminar, on the bicentennial for 150 project directors of law-related education in Houston, Tex.

The American Bar Association, Commission on Public Understanding About the Law, which I have the privilege of chairing, was recently established by the American Bar Association to promote general understanding among the adult public about their legal rights and obligations and also to promote respect and foster appreciation for the role of law in society.

Like the special committee, we have a major project which is focusing on the Constitution. We have recently received a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to conduct a model education program on the first amendment in our daily decisionmaking.

Hopefully, we will develop these programs and conduct them in local communities to explain the complex and conflicting principles of the first amendment. We are well on our way to delivering plans for that project.

We are quite proud of these ABA efforts and are encouraged by the bicentennial programs of other organizations in the private sector that are appearing here today.

It is clear, however, that so much more is needed if we are to eradicate the ignorance, disillusionment, and the apathy reflected in the studies that has been presented here today. That is why the passage of bicentennial legislation is so important.

Despite the most concerted efforts of the private sector, the challenge of promoting constitutional literacy can never be adequately addressed without Federal leadership. Such leadership is particularly and uniquely appropriate in this endeavor, for the

Constitution is the law of the entire land and not the law of particular States or particular constituencies.

Moreover, it is important to emphasize the pressing need for a multiyear effort grounded in informative and educational activities. Only in this way can we hope to insure widespread understanding and appreciation of the national treasure we call the Constitution.

To establish the 1980's as a decade devoted to constitutional literacy is one of the most significant contributions we as a people can make to our past and to our future.

The American Bar Association stands ready to be an active participant in this effort.

Senator HATCH. Thank you. We appreciate your very good statement.

I notice that you have been active in ACLU legal activities. It is probably no secret that I am not in agreement with certain conceptions of the ACLU regarding the Constitution-particularly, regarding the Bill of Rights.

How do we avoid creating a commission that interprets the Constitution according to what the ACLU thinks it should be or according to what Senator Hatch thinks it should be, while at the same time avoiding addressing the Constitution purely in terms of meaningless generalities?

Ms. TUCKER. First, Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that the American Bar Association does not have a position on this.

Senator HATCH. I understand.

Ms. TUCKER. I am going to answer this in my personal capacity if I may.

Senator HATCH. That will be fine.

Ms. TUCKER. I would like to repeat part of what Professor Morris said earlier today. I think the answer is that the Constitution is a vibrant document. It has to live and change with the times. That is why it has been amended so few times.

The fact that a commission would have members, hopefully, of many views on how it should be interpreted would lead to the health and vibrancy of the country.

I think there is no one way to read it. Generalities have not been the problem. It grows as our country grows; it has met the needs created by our problems.

The beauty of an adversary system and the beauty of a constitutional system is that all sides of the issue are hopefully brought out and debated and that somewhere in the middle we will continue to grow and continue to respect the law.

Senator HATCH. Thank you so much. We have appreciated your testimony today and appreciate the efforts you have put forth. Ms. TUCKER. Thank you.

[The prepared statement of Marna Tucker follows:]

88-295 0-82--5

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MARNA S. TUCKER

Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

My name is Marna S. Tucker. I am currently the Chairperson of the American Bar Association Commission on Public Understanding About the Law. I am also a lawyer practicing in Washington, D.C. My purpose today is to state the American Bar Association's support for meaningful commemorations of the Bicentennial of the Constitution, as has been proposed in several bills being considered by this Subcommittee.

As this Subcommittee knows, there is a widespread lack of public understanding not only about the Constitution, but also about federal, state, and local laws, and our legal and political systems. A recent major study on "Changes in Political Knowledge and Attitudes" among school children over the years 1969-1976, for example, showed declines in their knowledge of the structure and functions of government, and in their willing1 ness and capacity to participate in the political process. These findings reaffirm studies conducted during the 1960s which indicated that most social studies courses were neither increasing students' abilities to analyze legal and political issues nor developing their sense of civic efficacy. One only has to review the low turnout of newly-enfranchised 18-20 year old voters during the last three national elections, as well as the spiralling incidence of juvenile crime, to recognize the magnitude of the problem.

2

Legal illiteracy and low levels of civic efficacy, however, are regrettably not limited to our nation's youth. A national study which tested the functional literacy and competency of adults in law and government (among other areas) found over

1. National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, under contract to the Education Commission of the States (March, 1978)

2.

Law-Related Education in America: Guidelines for the Future,
American Bar Association, p. 1 (1975)

half of those surveyed "functional, but not proficient" or at a

3

level below functional literacy." A comprehensive survey of

legal needs recently conducted by the ABA confirmed that

consumers of legal services have a low level of sophistication regarding legal problems and what can be done to alleviate them.4

Given this troubling state of affairs, the ABA has, during the past decade, instituted several major programs designed to promote constitutional and legal literacy among the general public. Since 1971, our Special Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship has served as a national catalyst and coordinator for the development of programs and materials in elementary and secondary schools. You may be familiar with their Education in Law and Juvenile Justice Program, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which is utilizing law-related education to both promote legal literacy and reduce juvenile delinquency. I am pleased to report that the evaluation findings on this effort, which is being conducted cooperatively with five other national law-related education projects, indicate significant knowledge gains as well as a positive impact in reducing anti-social behavior among youth. The Special Committee is also conducting a special Bicentennial project designed to revitalize instruction about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is because of that project that Committee representatives are not able to join us here this morning, for they are today convening a Bicentennial Leadership Seminar in Houston for over 150 law-related education project directors from throughout the country.

The ABA Commission on Public Understanding About the Law, which it is my privilege to chair, was recently established to help adult citizens understand their rights and obligations

3. Adult Performance Level Program, Division of Adult Education, U.S. Office of Education (July, 1977)

4.

The Legal Needs of the Public, American Bar Foundation
(1977)

under the law, foster an appreciation of the role of law in society, and enable them to deal more effectively with their personal legal affairs. Like the Special Committee, we are currently involved in a special project concerning the Constitution. Under a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are putting together program models on "The First Amendment in Our Daily Decision-Making." As the title suggests, the goal of this program is to introduce the often complex, conflicting principles of the First Amendment in the context of local and individual settings which the general public can relate to and understand. To insure that such issues will be presented in the most effective and stimulating manner, we plan to use a Town Hall format and involve local community leaders representing a diversity of disciplines and interests.

We are quite proud of these ABA efforts, and are encouraged by the Bicentennial programs of other organizations such as the American Political Science Association's and American Historical Association's Project '87. It is clear, however, that more is needed if we as a nation are to reverse the ignorance, disillusionment, and apathy reflected in the studies I noted

earlier.

This is why the passage of Bicentennial legislation is so important. Despite the most concerted efforts in the private sector, the challenge of promoting constitutional literacy cannot be adequately addressed without federal leadership. Such leadership is particularly appropriate in this endeavor, for the Constitution is the law of this entire land, not of particular states or constituencies, and it embodies the principles and values which unite us as a nation. Just as the federal Constitution establishes working relationships among the coordinate branches of federal government, between federal and state governments, and between government and the people for the common good, so too can federal legislation uniquely promote constructive public and private activities committed to the shared goal of meaningful commemorations of the Bicentennial of the Constitution.

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