Law Day Art Contest winners announced in Līhue courtroom

Judge Gregory Meyers turned Courtroom 3 at the Puuhonua Kaulike building into a classroom for civics on Thursday, announcing the 2026 Law Day Art Contest winners before teachers, parents and students in Līhue. The setting underscored the point of the contest: to make the courts, and the idea of the rule of law, concrete for Kauai students rather than abstract.

In the middle school division, Gianna Carina Doldolea took first place, Xian Alcaran took second and Jaycee Manguchei took third. In the high school division, Loelle DeSpain earned first place, Kasahah Navor placed second and Rhylen Hiranaka placed third. The recognition gave student artists public credit in the same building where many of the legal and civic decisions that shape island life are made.

Some of the high school winners could not attend because May 14 was a school day, graduation was set for May 22, and the school year was winding down at the end of May. That timing gave the event a transitional feel, with seniors balancing one last round of classes and ceremonies while still being recognized for work tied to civic life. The contest also reflected Meyers’ long-running effort at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, where he has spent years visiting students ahead of Law Day to talk about the courts, the meaning of the observance and the annual theme.

Kauai’s contest has quickly become part of a larger local civics push. The island held its first Law Day Art Contest in 2024, then drew 170 students in the second annual contest in 2025. That same year, Meyers spoke to nearly 450 eighth-grade students, 300 ninth-grade students, Kauai Community College business law students and social studies teachers, broadening the reach beyond one school or one courtroom.

The effort sits alongside other recent civic education events on Kauai. Kauai Community College hosted a free “Laws Make a Difference, and So Can You” forum at the KCC Library on May 5, where retired Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald, retired Judge Kathleen Watanabe, former Kauai County Council member Mason Chock and moderator Jenny Silbiger fielded questions from students about executive authority, environmental safety, Native Hawaiian educational opportunities and the responsibilities of local government. Recktenwald urged students to use civic tools such as testifying, writing op-eds and supporting organizations.

A free legal clinic at Grove Farm Market on May 2 added another layer to the week, with volunteer attorneys offering general legal information on landlord-tenant disputes, family law and related topics. Law Day itself is observed nationally on May 1, a date rooted in an American Bar Association idea from 1957, then established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 and formally designated by Congress in 1961. On Kauai, those milestones were visible in a far more tangible form: student art, a courtroom audience and a direct introduction to how public institutions work.