The Constitution Day panel discussion on “Judge Frank Johnson’s Impact and the U.S. Constitution” will feature U.S Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama Susan Russ Walker and Jones Day attorney Peter Canfield. The program can be accessed at www.facebook.com/cmdcah. 

Judge Walker and attorney Canfield served as law clerks for Judge Johnson, who served as a district court judge in the U.S. Court for the Middle District of Alabama from 1955 to 1979, and a judge on the U.S. Fifth and later Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals from 1979 to 1999 (taking senior status in 1991). His decisions on voting rights, equal opportunity employment, affirmative action, humane conditions for prison inmates, and the rights of mental patients to adequate care affected the nation and the world. In all his cases, Judge Johnson strove to be faithful to the Constitution. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995.

Thomas Rains, executive director of the Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. Johnson Institute, will moderate the panel. Students, teachers, and others interested in history, civil rights, the law, and the U.S. Constitution are encouraged to watch the panel live. 

On September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Congress held its final meeting to sign the Constitution of the United States of America. In 2004, Congress designated September 17 of each year as Constitution Day, requiring schools receiving federal funds and all federal agencies to coordinate educational events during the week to promote a better understanding of the Constitution.  

For more information on Constitution Week, visit aub.ie/constitutionday