Wednesday, July 11, 2001

Rejoice, you all! We don't have a Lawyers' Day, but we do have the nearest thing, namely Law Day, on May 1 of each year. This day, which we honor by working, recognizes our system of law, our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the liberty we all enjoy under our system of government. Many communities take advantage of that day to honor and thank law enforcement officers and others whose devotion to the law and personal courage deserve our recognition.

I was pleased to read Mr. Lee Hunt's letter, last week, in which he suggested we have a Lawyer's Day. Of course, I was less pleased to read he had trouble holding down his breakfast, and for that I'd recommend he switch to more wholesome food or see a doctor. I might add it's no more elitist to want somebody who has studied law to decide questions whose correct resolution is found in legal textbooks than it is to want somebody who has studied medicine to treat his stomach problem.

The final allegation in Mr. Hunt's letter that lawyers are "part of a system which is corrupt at its core" is the tip-off to what is really bothering him. He castigates judges and lawyers as part of a close system, forgetting that (1) we have juries who make a great many important decisions in our judicial system, (2) we have some courts where the judges need not be lawyers (magistrate court and probate court), and (3) anybody who wants to be a lawyer can become one after demonstrating sufficient knowledge and "character fitness." (You don't have to practice as a lawyer afterwards. You still have the knowledge.) As for lawmaking, we have 84 percent of our state legislators who are not lawyers, so it's hard to believe that the 16 percent who are lawyers control everything, including natural gas deregulation.

Since we elect our state judges, the answer to those who don't like the ones we have is simple: Vote for someone else. Some people complain because our federal judges are appointed, not elected; others complain because our state judges are elected, not appointed. Any decision of these judges which is thought to be bad can always be appealed. You don't gripe, vent or complain: you appeal. You don't sue the judge: you appeal. (If you still lose on appeal, maybe you weren't right to start with, and your judge was better than you thought.)

Our voting system, in this country, is in need of reform. That's as true for state judges' elections as for all the other elections. The lawyers aren't any more responsible for this than anyone else. If we can promote Law Day enough, and all it stands for, we're more likely to make progress. So I welcome anyone who advocates Lawyers' Day: that's close enough.

Claude Y. Paquin

Fayette County

cypaquin@msn.com

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