Jeremy Ball to Speak at C-N’s Constitution Day

Jeremy Ball, an Assistant District Attorney in Tennessee’s Fourth Judicial District, will speak during Carson-Newman’s commemoration of Constitution Day at 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 19. A 2000 C-N graduate, Ball will examine the import and legacy of the 224 year old document with remarks titled “From Parchment to Pixels: The Enduring Relevance of the U.S. Constitution.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students,” said Dr. Kara Stooksbury, Constitution Day program coordinator and chair of history and political science. “They will get to hear from someone who works in the trenches to uphold the world’s preeminent legal document. Beyond that, they will hear from someone who used his Carson-Newman education as a springboard to making a difference in the legal system.”

Since joining the Fourth District’s Attorney General’s Office in 2004, Ball has led a full range of prosecutions, from misdemeanors to felonies, including first degree murder cases and on covered nationally on In Session. He assisted in the establishment and implementation of the District’s Drug Court.

A Newport native and 1996 Cocke County High School alumnus, Ball followed his BA from Carson-Newman with a Vanderbilt University law degree in 2003. While attending Vanderbilt, he served as a legal intern four years, two for Cocke County General Sessions Court Judge John Bell and two in the District AG’s office in Nashville. After graduating from law school and passing the Tennessee Bar, Ball served as an assistant district attorney in Nashville from September 2003 until August of 2004.

Constitution Day was established by Congress in 2005 to mandate that educational institutions receiving federal funds commemorate the document each year on September 17, the date it was signed in 1787. Since the federal mandate does not stipulate what constitutes an “educational program,” colleges and universities have a wide berth in observing the anniversary.

Given that Constitution Day falls on Saturday this year, schools are afforded the chance to hold campus events on the following Monday. The lecture will be held at in Thomas Recital Hall, part of Tarr Music Center. The event is free and open to the public.