Vested Interest - April 2007 Issue

The President's Thoughts

CELEBRATE THE LAW - DO NOT PRAISE THE LAWYERS !!

On May 1, our nation will commemorate LAW DAY. This special day was the brain-child of Charles Rhyne, past President of the American Bar Association. Mr. Rhyne believed that the individual freedoms enjoyed by Americans and the rule of law deserved a public declaration. In 1958, Mr. Rhyne drafted a U.S. Presidential Proclamation which eventually made its way to President Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, Sherman Adams. The proposed proclamation stopped there.

As May 1 approached, Mr. Rhyne went to see Sherman Adams. Mr. Adams indicated that President Eisenhower would "not sign a proclamation praising lawyers!" Mr. Rhyne has retold w hat happened next: "I strode down to the Oval Office and handed it to President Eisenhower himself. As he stood there reading it, Adams burst in yelling "Do not sign that paper praising lawyers!'" Despite Adams' protestation, Eisenhower signed the Proclamation, commenting that LAW DAY should commemorate our great heritage under the rule of law.

"Now, therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Thursday, May 1, 1958, as Law Day - USA. I urge the people of the United States to observe the designated day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; and I especially urge the legal profession, the press and the radio, television and motion picture industries to promote and to participate in the observance of that day."

Since that day, every U.S. President has issued a LAW DAY Proclamation to celebrate our nation's great heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law. (In 1961 a joint resolution of Congress designated May 1 as the official date for celebrating LAW DAY.) The 2007 LAW DAY Proclamation for celebrating our freedoms is: LIBERTY UNDER LAW: EMPOWERING YOUTH, ASSURING DEMOCRACY .The theme of LAW DAY 2007 recognizes that our future lies in the hands of our children. It is our responsibility to teach them about due process of law and the liberties which are enjoyed in this country. We must make sure that our youth understand that freedom is a privilege, earned through the courage of our ancestors. Tolerance of social injustice cannot be accepted, under any circumstances.

Because our children are the beneficiaries of this Democracy, we also have the obligation to make sure that the rule of law protects them. This means that we must never let a legal doctrine be contaminated in a way which abrogates our civil liberties. Our task, however, has been made more difficult because of the world we live in today. Technology, with its 30-second sound bytes and email news releases, has changed the views of our youth. Freedom of expression, as guaranteed by our Democracy, allows big dollar contributors to create webpage ads to poison the public perception about our system of justice.

For example, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, more than 150,000 new jobs have been created in the state since 2004, the highest total in the Midwest. Also, according to the Department, the unemployment rate in Illinois has dropped from 6.7 in 2003 to its current 4.7. Nevertheless, despite these public facts, corporate America issues biased reports claiming that lawsuits have driven businesses away. And is it really true that Ameren would close its doors if the rates were adjusted fairly so that the elderly were not required to pay 100% more than they paid one year ago today?

How do we explain to our young people that this stream of misinformation is really a reflection of justice?

As trial lawyers, we will fail our children if we take no action to correct the deception presently used on our citizens - especially our youth. It is our duty, our privilege to fight for access to the civil justice system. We wage this battle on behalf of society. But the war waged will never be complete as long as the civil justice system and access to our courts remain in the crosshairs of those who would abridge the freedoms we presently enjoy.

It is not popular today to admit we are trial lawyers. However, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it political? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular - but one must take it simply because it is right."

On this Law Day, as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers, I am proud to be fighting for the position that is neither safe, nor popular - I fight for freedom - for all people - for our civil justice system. On second thought: CELEBRATE THE LAW AND LET'S DO PRAISE THE TRIAL LAWYERS!!

Judy L. Cates, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association