Letters.

A Young Lawyer's Perspective

A young lawyer had this to say: "Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his posterity swear by the blood of the Revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others.

"As the patriots of '76 did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor.

"Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own and his children's liberty.

"Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spellingbooks, and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation.

"When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, or that grievances may not arise for the redress of which no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say no such thing.

"But I do mean to say that although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example they should be religiously observed."

When the young lawyer gave that speech, he was 27 years old. His name was Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was born in February of 1809, became licensed as a lawyer in 1836, and gave the speech in January of 1837, about two weeks before his 28th birthday.

Alan Murley

Sarasota

Prisoners' Rights

In response to Richard Friedman's letter in the October 15 Bar News, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It is no wonder that the public despises so many of us when such pitiful sentimentalists suggest ways to reduce the loss of personal freedom of prisoners having to sleep in prisons or suffer because they are on parole or probation. I suppose this fatuous plan for a total revamp of criminal laws will, by legislative fiat, convert criminals to law-abiding citizens by operation of law.

I suggest that the great majority of us prefer to know where the violators are -- in jail and not on the...