Vested Interest - Trends - February 1998 Issue

Top News Stories of 1997

According to the 190 American newspaper editors and broadcast directors of Associated Press, the top ten stories of 1997 are: (1) the death of Princess Diana, (2) The conviction of Timothy McVeigh, (3) The death of Mother Theresa, (4) The bullish stock market, (5) The cloning of a Scottish sheep, (6) The birth of the McCaughey septuplets, (7) The proposed tobacco settlement, (8) The Pathfinder exploration of Mars, (9) Campaign fundraising scandals, (10) The Heaven’s Gate suicides. A nonscientific survey from the AP Internet site found general agreement, adding the Hong Kong handover, the showdown with Iraq and the UPS strike, while deleting the McCaughey’s, the campaign finance issue, and Heaven’s Gate. (AP, December 25, 1997)

What to Do with the Budget Surplus

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll of 1,015 Americans asked what people thought should be done with any federal budget surplus. A plurality of 43% said the additional money should go toward additional spending, on health, education, and Social Security programs. Next most popular, at 30%, was cutting the federal deficit, which now stands at $5.4 trillion. Barely over one in five (22%) thought the money should be used to fund tax cuts. President Clinton has proposed using the money to expand Medicare, lowering the age of eligibility, while Congressional Republicans have pledged tax cuts instead. (AP, January 9, 1998)

Campus News and Notes

A survey by UCLA of 252,082 first-year students at 464 colleges and universities around the country found that more students than ever reported being bored in high school, and a record number planned on pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees. A record-low 27% agreed that "keeping up to date with political affairs" is important, while a record-high 16% report that they smoke cigarettes frequently. A majority (55%) describe themselves as "middle of the road". A smaller majority (53%) report that they drink beer frequently or occasionally. (AP, January 12, 1998)

Most Admired Living Humans

A Gallup poll of 1,005 adults nationwide asked respondents, of people "that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, [whom] do you admire most?" Among all respondents, the most admired man is President Bill Clinton, follow distantly by Billy Graham, Pope John Paul II, and Colin Powell. The most admired woman is Hillary Clinton, followed distantly by Mother Theresa, Princess Diana, and Oprah Winfrey. The most common response was "none/don’t know." (The Polling Report)

Public Wavering on Clinton Sex Allegation

Polls conducted the weekend after allegations that President Clinton had sex with a White House aide and asked her to lie about it showed mixed results, but generally found wavering support for Clinton. Most polls focused on the allegations of sex rather than the cover-up. A Time/CNN poll found that a majority (54%) of the 618 adults nationwide surveyed think that Clinton’s moral standards are about the same as those of the average married man. The same survey found that 60% think that the media has gone too far in probing his sexual past. A Boston Globe poll found that 36% of women believe that Clinton had an affair, while 53% of men thought it was true. Meanwhile, the big three television networks found wildly varying answers to the generic approval rating question: a CBS/New York Times poll found 59% approval. ABC News reported a 51% approval rating, while NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found a record low 40% approval. (AP, Reuters, January 25, 1998)

Civil Practice & Rules

A Committee meeting was held on December 15, 1997.

Those present: Richard Lucy, Patrick Dwyer, Eileen O’Sullivan, Scott Morgan, John Dziedziak, Anthony Raccuglia, Marvin Gray, James Sullivan, Chet Lizak, Grant Dixon and Vince Petrosino.

Those excused: Chris Eberspacher and John Hopkins.

The Committee reviewed the proposed amendments to Rules and proposed new Rules.

The following Rules were approved: Rule 76, 307, 315, 317, 343, 361 and 386.

The Committee was unanimously against Rule 305 because it is an automatic stay of execution of a money judgment until the time for appeal has expired. This could delay enforcement of judgment and put burden on plaintiff instead of defendant. The Rule assumes that every case will be appealed.

The Committee reserved opinion on Rule 306 pending further study of the entire Rule.

Rules 604, 605 and 606 concerned criminal matters and the Committee wished to defer to those who practice in this area.

Proposal regarding Rule 239 and proposal 97-13, P.R. 0050 met with favor on the Committee if the phrase "the Court need not read these instructions after closing arguments" found in paragraph d(1) is deleted. Everyone thought that all instructions should be read after closing arguments.

The Committee members attending this meeting were in favor of proposal 97-12, P.R. 0049 and proposal 97-14, P.R. 0051.

Comments regarding Rule 186 and amendments to Rule 191 and 201 were that they saw no reason to object since these proposals change very little with respect to existing practice.

Membership

ITLA wishes to thank the following attorneys who participated in ITLA’s membership drive held January 27 and 28, 1998.

• Ken Apicella
• Bob Bingle
• Kevin Conway
• John Dziedziak
• Keith Hebeisen
• Chris Hurley
• Tom Killoren
• Dan Malone
• Scott McKenna
• Bridget Moore
• Mike Mulvihill
• Bob Napleton
• John Nisivaco
• Charlie Porretta
• Richard Rogich
• Mark Rouleau
• Mike Schostok
• Susan Schwartz
• Mitch Weisz

ITLA has received 47 new memberships since January 1, 1998.