NYC Bar Association animate legal arguments spawned by the Declaration of Independence

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the New York City Bar Association presented a historical reenactment of the legal proceedings at its Midtown headquarters on Wednesday that centered on the foundational “all men are created equal” clause. The script of the reenactment, titled “‘All Men Are Created Equal’: The Declaration of Independence,” focused on the application of the natural rights clause in the founding document through a series of cases that John Quincy Adams helmed, including the Amistad legal matter.  U.S. Second Circuit Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston commissioned the project from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin and his wife Kathy Hirata Chin, who have a prolific body of work writing legal reenactments. The program used historical legal documents and a cast of bar association members to dramatize the events of the writing of the Declaration of Independence, the Amistad case, and John Quincy Adams’ cens