From left: Attorneys are Scott Peal, Stephen Shires, Deck Jones, April Prince, James Terry, Kim Ryan, and Jeff Adams
July 9, 2024 - Local attorneys gathered in the Gibson room of the Historic 1885 Courthouse on Friday, July 3, 2024 to honor America and the freedoms we all enjoy, and to celebrate the significance of Independence Day. It is a goal of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association for a formal reading of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to be performed annually in each of the 254 Texas counties.
Attorney Deck Jones, a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, began the reading explaining, ”The Declaration of Independence was published on July 4, 1776 and the first public readings took place within a few days. It was followed by seven terrible years of war and the colonies finally gain their independence from Britain in 1783. Four years later the United States Constitution was ratified and four years after that the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.”
The reading of the Declaration of Independence (Video 1:29) was performed first followed by the reading of the Bill of Rights (Video 11:05) which are the first 10 amendments of the Constitution.
Attorneys participating in the reading were Scott Peal, Stephen Shires, April Prince, James Terry, Kim Ryan, and Jeff Adams.
