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Bar News - June 3, 2005 Opinions: Morning Mail Is it Time to Reconsider Lifetime Appointments? When the U.S. constitution was adopted in 1787, the average life expectancy of a new American was 45 years. Today, it is more than 77 years. Increasing longevity is a good fact of life. Appropriately, the fact of longer life expectancy is having an impact in debates ranging from the retirement age of pilots to raising the age of eligibility for full social security benefits. Is there any reason why the federal judiciary should be exempt from the same debate? The potentially lengthening terms of judges appointed to the federal bench is raising the stakes over every judicial nominee. The impact a single judge may have is now potentially felt over a much greater period of time than was the case when the constitution was first adopted. Much has been written in recent months about the increasingly polarized debate on Capitol Hill about the process of nominating and approving federal judges, the role of the filibuster, the so-called "nuclear option" to change senate rules, and the like. Perhaps one way to diffuse the debate would be to re-examine the tenure of those appointed to the federal bench. Appointments limited to a finite term of years, or that are subject to a mandatory retirement age would:
Thomas W. Hildreth
'Sipping Drinks' Unnecessary Reference For your thoughtful consideration: I just sat down to review the May 20, 2005 edition of the Bar News, and read, "Join the Pilgrimage to the Annual Meeting." The very first line reads "Sipping drinks on the front porch..." and continues with other enticements for lawyers to make the effort to go to the meeting. I have to say that given the recent articles (very valuable at that) about lawyers who suffer from substance abuse, as well as the other happenings at lawyer meetings involving alcohol consumption, I think it is slightly irresponsible to use "Sipping drinks on the front porch...." as an enticement to go to the annual meeting, especially as an opening line. I suppose one could say that "drinks" does not necessarily have to relate to alcohol drinks. That may be true, but it is definitely a phrase that commonly brings the notion of alcohol to mind. I offer for the future that it would be more prudent to exclude such phrases in like contexts, in light of our collective effort to raise the appearance of professionalism in the bar, and empathy for those lawyers who may struggle with alcohol issues in their lives. As an aside, I thoroughly enjoy Casemaker and appreciate all the efforts of those who must constantly work to keep it as an efficient research tool. Jennifer Foley Editor's response: While the reference to "sipping drinks" is not an explicit (or even intended) reference to alcohol, it is certainly a likely inference. The Bar News should err on the side of caution in not appearing to promote alcohol as a necessary component of a good time at a lawyers' meeting, both due to recent events, and in deference to those on the difficult, life-long road to recovery from substance abuse.
"We the People" Team Thanks Supporters The following letter was sent to organizations and individuals which provided financial support for the Milford High School's participation in the national "We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution" competition: "We, the students and coach of this year's Milford High School "We the People...the Citizen and the Constitution" team can't thank you enough for your sponsorship. Your contributions allowed students to represent Milford at the National Competition held in Washington, DC from April 28th to May 3rd. As their coach, I can tell you firsthand how much this competition meant to the students. They represented New Hampshire with class, dignity and honor. They placed 20th out of 51 teams this year. The teams were not limited to public schools. In fact, many of the teams Milford competed against were private schools, academies and prep schools. Milford was a sight to be seen. There were numerous opportunities for the students to engage in political discourse with other students, dignitaries and officials while in DC. They took advantage of every moment to further their learning while there. Your help and support were truly admirable. It really does take a community to mold a child and your help displayed the civic virtue that this community is blessed with. I will continue to work hard to teach our youth the value of citizenry and civic virtue. It's a lot easier teaching them these values when I know our community is also firmly entrenched in them." Dave Alcox |
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