Delaware County District Attorney John J. Whelan

Delaware County District Attorney John J. Whelan will deliver the 2014 Neumann University Constitution Day Lecture on Wednesday, September 17, at 4:30 p.m. in Room 315 of the Bachmann Main Building. The topic of his presentation is “Applying an Old Constitution to New Technology.”

Mr. Whelan was a respected practicing attorney for 25 years, leading the firm of Whelan, Doyle & Pressman LLC in the area of civil litigation, municipal representation and decedent estates before becoming Delaware County Assistant District Attorney. DA Whelan was elected to a four-year term of office in November of 2011.

In 2010, Chairman Whelan received a Child Advocacy Angel Award from CASA Youth Advocates of Delaware County, which provides advocates for neglected and abused children. In recognition of a personal act of bravery in 2009, Mr. Whelan received a Citizenship Award from the Ridley Township Board of Commissioners, recognition by the Delaware County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, and the Citizens Crime Commission Award for Bravery.

In 2011, the Delaware County Chiefs of Police Association honored Mr. Whelan with the George G. Weidner Award, presented for outstanding leadership and support of law enforcement and criminal justice.

Each year schools and public institutions observe September 17th as Constitution Day (formerly Citizenship Day) and mark that fateful day in 1787 when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created.

The law establishing the present observance was enacted in 2004. In addition to renaming the holiday, the act mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions and all federal agencies provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day. In May of 2005 the United States Department of Education announced that it would apply the law henceforth to any school receiving federal funds of any kind.