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October 20, 2008
STATE BAR LEADERS URGE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO ACT
ON CIVIL JUSTICE ISSUES; TO INCREASE CIVICS EDUCATION; AND TO PRESERVE A
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL JUDICIARY
Letter, Signed by More Than 30 Bar Presidents from
Across the Nation, Sent to Presidential Candidates
State bar presidents from
across the country have joined together, calling on presidential
candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to address a number of critical
legal issues and policy topics confronting the nation during their
respective bids for the White House. Signed by the leaders of 33 state bar associations, a letter
focusing on substantive legal issues and challenges that lawyers,
citizens and state bar presidents confront on a daily basis was sent to
each candidate’s campaign staff. The letter emanated from a summit
recently convened by New York State Bar Association President Bernice K.
Leber (Arent Fox LLP) in New York
City.
Dated October 8th, the
letter asks the candidates to respond to a number of questions
concerning a range of important areas, including expanding civil legal
services and access to justice for the poor, maintaining a fair and
impartial judiciary, working to depoliticize the Justice Department, and
infusing civics education into our public schools to enhance our
children’s knowledge of the central role played by the justice
system in American society. To view a
copy of the letter sent to the presidential candidates, please
visit www.nysba.org/presidentsletter.
“As we face an
historic presidential election, the leaders of this nation’s legal
community have an extraordinary opportunity to drive the national debate
surrounding the issues of key importance to our justice system,”
said Leber. “This collaborative
effort gives voice to the legal community and demonstrates that we are
united in our desire to play an important, proactive role in the shaping
of future legal policies. I want to
personally thank everyone who participated in this historic summit for
their outstanding work and for answering the call to help make a
difference.”
Following the election in
November, the bar presidents will ask the newly-elected President to
meet with them in Washington, D.C. next April in order to discuss the
President’s program on legal and justice system
issues.
The summit with state bar
presidents was modeled on the one convened in 1963 by President John F.
Kennedy. Upon taking office, President
Kennedy met with the 50 State Bar leaders in order to discuss the great
issues of the day confronting the legal system and our
society. This meeting among
distinguished bar leaders and the President led his administration to
focus heavily on civil rights and the formation of the Lawyers Committee
for Civil Rights Under Law, an advocacy organization that is still very
influential to this day.
In addition to Bernice K.
Leber, President of the New York State Bar Association, the list of
signatories represents leaders of state bar associations from throughout
the nation, including: Mark White, Alabama Bar Association; Mitchell
Seaver, Alaska Bar Association; Holly J. Fujie, The State Bar
of California; Livia DeFilippis Barndollar, Connecticut Bar Association;
Allen Terrell, Delaware State Bar Association; Ralph Albrecht, The Bar
Association of the District of Columbia; John White, The Florida Bar;
Jack Carey, Illinois State Bar Association; Dan Moore, The Iowa State
Bar Association; Thomas Wright, Kansas Bar Association; Brett Baber,
Maine State Bar Association; Katherine Howard, Maryland State Bar
Association, Inc.; Edward W. McIntyre, Massachusetts Bar Association;
Edward H. Pappas, State Bar of Michigan; Michael Ford, Minnesota State
Bar Association; Charlie Harris, The Missouri Bar; Chris Tweeten, State
Bar of Montana; Bruce Beesley, State Bar of Nevada; Peggy Knee, New
Jersey Bar Association; Craig Orraj, State Bar of New Mexico; Charles
Becton, North Carolina Bar Association; Maya B. Kara, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands Bar Association; Gary Leppla, Ohio State
Bar Association; John Conger, Oklahoma Bar Association; Richard Yugler,
Oregon State Bar; C. Dale McClain, Pennsylvania Bar Association; Richard
Pacia, Rhode Island Bar Association; Nathan Alder, Utah State Bar; Mark
Hodge, Virgin Islands Bar Association; Stanley Bastian, Washington State
Bar Association; Dwane Tinsley, West Virginia State Bar; and Diane Diel,
State Bar of Wisconsin.
The 74,000-member New York
State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in
the nation. Founded in 1876, the Association’s programs and
activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice
system for more than 130 years.
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