The UNT Dallas College of Law held its inaugural Law Merit Badge program Saturday with 72 scouts from the Circle Ten Council of the Boy Scouts of America earning the merit badge. 

The one-day event matched 70 percent of the number of Scouts who earned the merit badge all of last year. Frank Stevenson, the past president of the State Bar of Texas, provided advice and guidance to the Scouts, and shared material in the State Bar’s Law Related Education department developed to help educators teach students about the rule of law.

State Senator Royce West, a member of the Circle Ten Council’s Executive Board, Dean Emeritus Royal Furgeson and Dallas Bar Association President Michael Hurst all spoke to the Scouts about aspects of the law. Eagle Scout and UNT Dallas law student John Furlow, offered a comparison between the Scout Oath and the oaths taken by servicemen and women, lawyers and public officials.

State Bar members who are active Scout volunteers contributed to the program, including Wes Alost, David Hamilton, Charles Hosch, and John Withers. Katrina Swallow, another UNT Dallas law student who remains an active Scout, helped with registration.

The Law Merit Badge includes requirements for Scouts to meet and talk with law enforcement officials about their roles in society. Officers from the Dallas Police Department, Dallas Independent School District and the UNT Dallas Police Department all provided opportunities for Scouts to get an up-close look at their patrol cars.  

UNT Dallas College of Law will serve as host again next year, but will do so in its soon-to-be new home in the old downtown Dallas Municipal Building, which will accommodate a larger cohort of Scouts.