Justice Speeches

Chief Justice Eric Brown

Portage County Bar Association Law Day Celebration

June 24, 2010

Thank you for inviting me to be part of your Law Day celebration. The fact that you rescheduled this from its original date tells us how important this celebration is to the members of the Portage County Bar Association.

You didn't cancel it; you didn't wait until next year.

Whether Law day is celebrated on May 1 or June 24, it is important to set aside time each year to remind ourselves of the importance of living in a society that respects the rule of law. An event such as this reminds us not to take our protections and liberties for granted.

As lawyers and judges we might get lost in the everyday world of pleadings and motions, contracts and provisions of the Ohio Revised Court. But Law Day reminds us that the tools we use everyday make real the rule of law and affects the lives of people every day.

Our work, your work, the work of each one of you engaged in the legal profession, makes real our long held beliefs in liberty and freedom and justice for all. Thank you for your work and your dedication to the profession.

The American Bar Association suggests we mark Law Day 2010 under the theme of Law in the 21^st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges.

We are able to draw in our mind's eye what that theme means to us—the importance of fairness and justice, the importance of following in the footsteps of Lincoln, Brandeis and Marshall—and the importance of looking beyond our current challenges.

The enduring traditions of law are nothing short of a gift to humankind.

The law replaced the tyranny of history with the ideal that the fortunate and the less fortunate will be granted the same protections.

The rule of law inspired our ancestors, all of our ancestors—whether they are European immigrants, former African American slaves, Hebrew, Muslim, Persian or Asian—to come to this country to seek a new life.

Our laws, our constitutions make real the American ideal of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Over the course of our nation's history, we did not always get it right. The law of this country allowed for slavery, it said that it was legal to deny the vote to millions of people who were female or African American.

But the law protected those who rallied for change.

It granted protections to Susan B. Anthony when she rallied the suffragettes. Belatedly, much too belatedly, it protected the protestors in Selma and Montgomery.

In the lifetime of some of us here this evening, neighborhoods were segregated so that Jews and Blacks and other minorities were not allowed to live where they wished. The law broke down those barriers and still protects them today.

And the courts threw open the school house door to children of all color.

The courts of the 21^st century are once again in the forefront of providing equal protections—this time to those who seek same sex marriages. The decisions of the courts are not always popular but the judiciary has a well established tradition of expanding liberties.

As lawyers we are part of this rich heritage. We are part of its great future.

Today, the legal profession is responsible for protecting the innocent and prosecuting the guilty. Our profession helps sort between the two.

The ABA's Law Day theme appears to have been tailored for this moment.

The emerging challenges call on us to ensure that the judiciary is fair and efficient; the challenges call on us as lawyers and judges to ensure that the courts are accessible to the people we serve and that we are fully engaged with our communities.

The emerging challenges of the law in the 21^st century fall at our doorstep. For us, the future has arrived. The challenges are real.

Soon, the Supreme Court will release the case statistics for 2009 calendar year, not a topic you typically discuss in a dinner speech. But this report will document that more than 89,000 foreclosures were filed last year in Ohio—the 14^th year in a row that there's been an increase in foreclosures filings.

Chief Justice Moyer did a masterful job in organizing pro bono attorney service for homeowners in need of help and he oversaw the development of a model mediation program designed to address foreclosure cases. Those programs made a difference for families and homeowners but the flood of cases continues.

The emerging challenges are here.

The talk in Columbus these days centers around what will happen to the next state budget, which will likely require another round of spending cuts.

With approximately 80 percent of the budget for state judiciary committed to paying the salaries of judges, frankly there is little cost savings that can be achieved in the court's budget.

But that doesn't mean the courts will not feel the strain. State budget cuts could result in reduced spending by counties for prisons and youth services facilities.

And what about the budgets of treatment programs that are now a frequent component at sentencing? Will treatment programs be able to keep pace with demand? What about the county budget for the sheriff's department?

I don't have the answers but I know this: the emerging challenges are here.

Let me tell you about an emerging challenge we are doing something about.

The Ohio Courts Racial Fairness Commission concluded a number of years ago that the legal profession is not reflective of the diversity of the population.

Here are some of the statistics that bear this out: African Americans represent 3.7 percent of the registered attorneys in Ohio, while they comprise 12.6 percent of the population. Asian Americans are 1.8 percent of the population and only one percent of the lawyers and Latinos are 2.3 percent of the population and less than one percent of the profession.

Last week in Columbus I had the opportunity to meet with law professors and law students who will serve as the faculty for the Law and Leadership Institute that will be held this summer at law schools across the state, including the University of Akron School of Law and Cleveland Marshall.

These were some of the best and the brightest of our law schools, and they certainly are some of the most enthusiastic.

The faculty will work with more than 300 students, primarily minorities from inner city neighborhoods, who will spend this summer learning the skills necessary for attending and completing law school.

This is just the third year of the program, and none of the students are old enough to attend college—let alone law school. So it's too early to gauge the success of the program but there is every indication that the Law And Leadership Institute could result in more minorities joining the legal profession.

The diversity of the profession and the diversity of the courts is an issue of great importance to me.

First thing, it's simply the right thing to do. For too long minorities did not have the same preparation and access to law schools that were available to many of us here this evening. That has to end. We need to expand the pool of attorneys.

But the larger reason for increased diversity is that we must take steps to ensure the public's trust and confidence in the law and in the judiciary.

People who come before the courts must see and believe that the courts reflect who they are.

If you walk into a court and nobody looks like you, nobody speaks like, you question if the judge and the clerk and the administrative staff hold the same beliefs, the same ideals of justice and fairness. It can be a frightening experience.

We have a responsibility to address their concerns.

As judges and lawyers we have a responsibility to ensure that every person who comes to the courts—every man, woman and child—has faith in the system that will decide the fate of the matter they bring to the courts.

In many ways, the trust that each person holds for the courts and the legal community shapes the success of our work. If people do not see their reflection in the system, they will have little faith that the system is fair.

The laws shaped and guided by our courts and our lawmakers cease to have meaning if the citizens the laws are designed to protect no longer believe in the system.

Each person who comes before the courts must in the end, believe that their concerns and their disputes received a fair hearing—even if the final ruling was not to their liking.

As we reflect on the Enduring Traditions, the Emerging Challenges of the legal profession we must work to ensure that each client who seeks our counsel, each person who enters a courtroom will recognize that the system is fair and that they received a fair hearing.

Their trust and confidence will ensure our success as we move forward to meet the emerging challenges.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of your celebration of the rule of law.