The American Board of Trial Advocates, San Bernardino/Riverside Chapter, in partnership with San Bernardino Superior Court, will reenact arguments and the ruling from the historic local civil-rights case Lopez v. Seccombe
This 1944 trial in San Bernardino desegregated the city parks and recreational facilities, specifically the Perris Hill swimming pool known as the Plunge. U.S. citizens of Latino descent had been denied equal access to public pools in the city. Lawyers successfully argued their Fifth and 14th Amendment Constitutional rights were being violated. The case set a precedent that was used to abolish racial segregation nationwide.
The upcoming program “will celebrate our community’s close and important early connection to our country’s desegregation, as well as the importance of the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the important role of the judiciary, and how revolutionary change and justice can be obtained by way of strong, ethical advocacy and civil insistence for equal protection under our laws,” said attorney Bryan Reid by email.
Guest speakers include Mark Ocegueda, an author and professor at Brown University. Ocegueda has studied the city of San Bernardino’s Latino community and its significance toward understanding the historical development of civil rights, urban renewal, culture and labor in California.
San Bernardino Judge and ABOTA San Bernardino/Riverside President John Pacheco will give opening remarks. Reid will introduce the educational program. Mike Bidart and Bill Lemmon will reenact the case’s arguments and Justice Manuel Ramirez will reenact the ruling.
This event is part of the James Otis Lecture Series, comprising programs put on by the ABOTA Foundation to educate and inspire students’ respect for the U.S. Constitution.
It will be presented live and via Zoom webinar Sept. 15—the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month—at 1:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but attendees must register, and attendance is limited to 500 registrants.
The live event will be at Mitla Cafe, 602 N. Mount Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino.
This reenactment will be filmed by KVCR.
To register to attend in person, click here. To register to attend via Zoom, click here.
