Hearsay

By Stephen Anderson
Editor

Silence for the lambs

First, a moment of silence for the impending demise of the legislated-but-undefined daily moment of silence for flocks of public school students (and no comments on what the lambs, especially those of adolescent persuasion, may have been thinking about).

It was hardly worth the time of the legislature to enact it, for the governor to veto it, for the legislators to override the veto, for the school systems to decide how to administer it, and for the federal court to find it unconstitutional.

So let’s all bow our heads in memory of a civic test of the separated powers of three branches of government.

• • •

Now, then, it’s time to share a moment of silent cogitation on the financial plight of our legal assistance community in its thankless task of tending to the needs of the indigent lambs who need our collective help.

State and federal budget woes prevent governments from expansion of legal aid funding initiatives commensurate with the civil justice gap that will not go away, and the costs of running the agencies that respond to this public calling.

The Lawyers Trust Fund and the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation annually harvest a total of about $6 million from statewide sources – the $42 per attorney registration fee apportionment and the General Assembly appropriation, respectively.

That clearly is not enough to meet the growing need, and it ranks Illinois comparatively a miser in legal aid funding among the 10 most populous states. The shepherds, and their flocks of lambs, deserve better.

As 2007 draws to a close, and individuals make timely decisions about tax-deductible charitable donations, the Illinois lawyer should realize that such charity begins at home. Ventures that enhance the administration of justice, and access to it, should top your list.

If your bar association has a foundation, start there. If not, and even beyond that, your Illinois Bar Foundation distributes meaningful grants to smaller legal assistance projects across the state that don’t share significantly in the greater granting process.

The regional umbrella organizations – Prairie State Legal Services in the north and central areas, and Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in the southern counties – could do more in smaller communities and sparse rural expanses with your help.

In Cook County, the Legal Assistance Foundation is the third largest beneficiary of major funding for widespread programs. The Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services effectively links myriad agencies with eligible clients.

There is no shortage of legal aid programs in the Chicago area, just a shortfall of ready cash. Few get as much bang out of a few bucks as the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation’s network of neighborhood clinics, or the Chicago Legal Clinic’s storefront offices.

For a comparative ranking of two dozen grantees on the Equal Justice Foundation roster, see the story on page 15. But don’t stop there. Court Appointed Special Advocates in many circuits, for instance, appear only on the Illinois Bar Foundation list.

Remember the lambs. Wolves will ever be at the doors of the shepherds who nurture them. Thank ewe very much!

Placing a value on an apology

The settlement in the case of Chief Justice Robert Thomas v. Kane County Chronicle is only the most recent matter in which a jurist succeeded in a defamation case against a newspaper. During the past 10 years, seven such cases were adjudicated and four were decided in favor of judges.

In the Illinois case, Justice Thomas will get $3 million because a rogue newspaper columnist accused him, not once but three times, of political “shimmy-shammy” that verged on felonious misconduct.

The newspaper also agreed, at long last, to publish an apology, which was all the chief justice wanted in the first place. What painful irony that must be for the publishers, after almost four years of costly legal maneuvering in state and federal courts.

If only the parties had put their outrage aside in early 2004, integrity could have been salvaged more gracefully. The columnist’s persistence, despite requests for retractions, led a jury to decide the crusade constituted actual malice, if not reckless disregard of its veracity.

As Joseph Power, the chief justice’s counsel, said when Judge Donald O’Brien allowed his case to proceed: “The significance is that it’s not open season on judges.”

Although the words were soft-spoken at the time, very early in the litigation, the settlement announced in October punctuates them with an exclamation point.

There’s little you need to say after you say you’re sorry. Add that to your list of New Year’s resolutions.