The Nevada Supreme Court is hosting an interactive Law Day Live forum linking courtrooms in Las Vegas, Carson City, and Winnemucca around an American Bar Association theme honoring the legacy of the nation's second president, John Adams.

Court spokesman Bill Gang said a Thursday videoconference hook-up will be streamed live as an educational tool for middle and high school students across the state.

Panels at each location will include judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and law enforcers — moderated by Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta.

Adams was the first U.S. lawyer-president, and was a staunch advocate of the rule of law — including the principle that accused persons are entitled to a legal defense.

Adams defended British soldiers in court on charges after the Boston Massacre of 1770.

While solemn commemorations marked the first anniversary of the calamitous BP oil spill, legal claims filed by the oil giant and other companies involved in the disaster show that lengthy court battles lay ahead.

Around the Gulf Coast Wednesday, residents said prayers on the beach and lit candles in the heart of New Orleans, while relatives flew over the sea where 11 rig workers died a year ago. In New Orleans courts, BP filed lawsuits alleging negligence by the rig owner and the maker of the device that failed to stop the spill. The blowout preventer maker and rig owner filed their own claims.

BP said in its lawsuit filed in federal court in New Orleans that Cameron International provided a blowout preventer with a faulty design, alleging that negligence by the manufacturer helped cause the disaster. The lawsuit seeks damages to help BP pay for the tens of billions of dollars in liabilities it has incurred from the disaster.

It also was seeking $40 billion from rig owner Transocean, accusing it of causing last year's deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP says every single safety system and device and well control procedure on the Deepwater Horizon rig failed.

The lawsuit against Cameron said the blowout preventer "was unreasonably dangerous, and has caused and continues to cause harm, loss, injuries, and damages."

Houston-based Cameron noted in a statement emailed to AP that Wednesday was the deadline under the relevant statute for all parties to file claims against each other. It said it has filed claims of its own to protect itself.

The attorney assigned to unravel a Connecticut-based investment pyramid scheme says it will take longer than expected to account for the money, including hundreds of millions of dollars invested on behalf of a pension fund for Venezuelan state oil workers.

The court-appointed receiver, John Carney, is investigating the financial dealings of Francisco Illarramendi, a Venezuelan-American accused of taking money from hedge funds he operated in Stamford, Conn., for personal use. U.S. prosecutors in Connecticut have called it the state's biggest white-collar federal prosecution.

Carney on Monday asked for a three-month deadline extension to Sept. 30, saying the task has been complicated by gaps in the paper trail and other challenges.

"The magnitude and fraudulent nature of the transactions, the lack of meaningful documentation, the involvement of foreign entities, and the sheer quantity of data all necessitate additional time," Carney, of the New York law firm Baker & Hostetler, wrote in the court filing.

The office of the U.S. district judge handling the case, Janet Bond Arterton, said the request was pending Tuesday.

Illarramendi, 42, of New Canaan, pleaded guilty on March 7 to criminal charges including several counts of fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He faces up to 70 years in prison at a sentencing hearing that remains to be scheduled.

Wisconsin court officials fear the court's data management system, including a popular site that allows anyone to easily look up the criminal records of friends and neighbors, could be on shaky ground if the governor's proposed budget breaks up its funding mechanism.

Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget would end a dedicated funding stream for Consolidated Court Automation Programs, the data management system for the state courts system. State law now gives the system $6 out of every $21.50 charged as part of the Justice Information System Surcharge included in most court filing fees. Under the new proposal, all fee revenue would go to the Department of Administration, which would give the money to the system and a range of other programs. It would also cut the system's funding by 10 percent.

Jean Bousquet, CCAP spokeswoman, said the switch would allow DOA to move money to other programs in the future. If that happens, Consolidated Court Automated Programs would have to consolidate or cut back on non-essential services, and the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access database would likely be on the shortlist of cuts.

The WCCA site provides detailed and updated information on all past and pending court cases in the Wisconsin circuit courts system and is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Bousquet said while they hope cuts are not necessary, the system would likely deal with budget cuts through gradual moves.