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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1992
"Justice Deficit" says ABA President-Elect
"The Justice system in many parts
of the United States is on the verge
of collapse due to inadequate and
unbalanced f und i ng" said the
President-elect of the American Bar
Association,
J. Michael McWilliams,
at the launch of a report of an ABA
Special Committee on Funding the
Justice System.
The report found that the justice
system was starved of resources and
continuing neglect posed a very
serious threat to democracy in the
US. According to the report, half the
States in the US were experiencing
undue delay in civil cases and in
their criminal courts. This has
meant, for example, that indigent
individuals charged with a crime in
Louisiana have waited up to 70 days
in jail before arraignment; that the
criminal cases backlog in Baltimore
increased by more that 900 cases in
one year; and, in Detroit, where it
used to take a few hours to remove a
child from a dangerous home
environment, it can now take up to
three days. The report also found
that half of the States in the US
reported actual budget cuts in justice
funding during the past year.
The ABA President-elect said that
delays and lack of resources had
very real consequences for the every
day lives of Americans. He told the
story of Robert from Atlanta who,
in a case of mistaken identity,
recently spent six months in jail
without any form of charges being
brought and without seeing a lawyer.
He also mentioned the victim of a
rape in New Mexico whose accused
attacker was released and would not
be charged because the District
Attorney could not meet trial
requirements due to a lack of
resources. "These are only a few
examples that indicate the personal
tragedy created by the lack of
funding for the civil and criminal
justice system", he said. "Moreover,
this lack of funding creates an
environment in which the quantity
of justice is more important than the
I quality of justice."
^Vif
J. Michael McWilliams,
President-elect, ABA
The ABA President-elect said that
lawyers must lead the way to
increase publice awareness and
understanding of this problem. He
said, however, that "lawyers alone
cannot ensure adequate and balanced
funding for the justice system. Bar
associations and members of the
Bench must reach out and build
relationships with other groups to
form a 'coalition for justice'."
•
MacSharry Warns US
(Continued from page 256)
create a solid foundation in
international trade rules, not only in
the more traditional field of
industrial products, but also in the
sensitive area of agriculture, along
wtih new areas such as services and
intellectual property.
"The Community believes that an
additional reason for a successful
conclusion of the Uruguay Round lies
in the need to provide a stable
trading environment for the countries
of Central and Eastern Europe and
the independent States of the ex-
Soviet Union." Mr. MacSharry said
that the European Community had
made it very clear that it was not and
would not become a fortress Europe.
"This has been demonstrated by the
recent negotiations with our
neighbours in Europe. Equally, the
Community is commited to further
liberalisation of world trade through
the successful conclusion of the
Uruguay Round. I believe, I hope,
that the US is equally commited." •
At the ABA They
Sa id. . .
"Over the last dozen years, the US
Government has too often been on
the wrong side of the struggle for
equal justice",
New York Times
columnist, Anthony Lewis,
addressing the ABA opening
assembly.
"The roles of lover and lawyer are
potentially conflicting ones, and
lawyers should avoid the conflict,"
American Bar Association Standing
Committee on Ethics and
Professional Responsibility.
"It is not enough to promote family
values, we must have a Government
that values families."
Hillary
Rodham Clinton, former Chairman
of the American Bar Association
Commission on Women and wife of
Democrat presidential candidate, Bill
Clinton, addressing a luncheon at
the ABA.
"Hey, hey, ABA, vote pro-choice
and vote pro gay"
demonstrators
chanting in a protest outside the San
Francisco Hilton, the ABA Meeting
Headquarters, on Saturday, 9
August.
"Our very notion of democracyand
justice are threatenedby a lack of
adequate resources to operate the
one (justice) system that has
protected and extended our rights
for more than two centuries".
ABA
President-elect, J. Michael
McWilliams.
"The most important response we
have to racism is to succeed".
George Fraser, publisher and radio
host addressing a meeting
programme of the Conference of
Minority Partners in Majority Law
Firms.
"You've got to language your
thinking in terms of end-user."
Michael Kelly, Family Law Attorney,
speaking at an ABA seminar on
Managing Clients and Cases.
Barbara Cahalane
•
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