On Friday, July 1, 2016, the Law Office of Laurie Key joined with criminal defense attorneys across the State of Texas in reading the United States of America Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights in the county seat of every county in the State. The effort was coordinated by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and our portion was conducted in collaboration with the Lubbock Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

You can read about our experiences leading readings in three counties below.

We left Lubbock around 9:45 am and headed to Dimmitt for the Castro County reading. We had a small, but grateful crowd of five, including the county judge and his sister, the veterans service coordinator. From there, we went to Tulia for the Swisher County reading. We had three folks join us for the lunchtime reading - the county judge, the sheriff, and the county attorney. Next, we made our way over to Silverton for the Briscoe County reading. We ate lunch at the Mean Woman Grill across the street from the courthouse, and discussed the likelihood that nobody would show up at 2:30 pm the Friday of a holiday weekend. We were wrong. It was by far our biggest, and most enthusiastic crowd of the day. About 20 people showed up. They brought lawn chairs, picnic blankets, and a cooler with bottled water. We met several county officials, including the heads of both the republican and democratic parties. They were attentive, friendly, and grateful. Folks in all three counties expressed their hope that we would come back and do it again next year.

We decided to take the scenic route home, and drove over to Quitaque. We went through Caprock Canyon State Park, where we learned that the bison herd always has the right-of-way, and they're not inclined to hurry. They got up-close and personal, checking out our vehicle as they meandered across the path. After 10 or 15 minutes, we were finally able to pass, and drove through the rest of the park. We stopped for a quick selfie, then got on the road. We arrived home around 6 pm. It was a great day!

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