Letters.

Dignity in Law

I am writing to support Tad Aronovitz and the Dignity in Law program. As a former prosecutor, public defender, judge of industrial claims, a partner with former Florida Bar President Bill Blews, and now as a tenured full professor of law, I have seen in my 30 years of being in the practice of law a lot of unwarranted attacks on a profession I still find to be noble and inspirational.

I am proud to be a lawyer, and I want everybody to know the whole story about our great profession, and I want someone to respond to the unjustified attacks on our profession. Tod is doing that, but he needs our help. We lawyers need to stand together in this campaign and put aside provincial interests. It's not about civil trial lawyers versus criminal trial lawyers and trial lawyers versus transactional lawyers. It's about defending who and what we are. And if you are anything like me, I sometimes forget who we are and what we do. So I pull out any Bar Journal and reread the "Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar" (found this year on page 831 of the Journal's directory issue).

I first "took" the "Oath" in the well of the Florida Supreme Court in the spring of 1972. It gave me goose-bumps then and it still does. I read it again before writing this letter. And when I read about "justice" and "honesty," and "truth and honor," "maintaining confidences," and "preserving inviolate the secrets of my client," and about honor and reputation, and about "never rejecting from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless and the oppressed," I realize why I became a lawyer and how my brothers and sisters at the Bar are "living" that "Oath." Why shouldn't we defend ourselves when we are attacked unjustifiably? Why shouldn't we point out to our critics the greatness of our profession?

Sure we have shortcomings, and things to do to make the justice system fairer, and we need to work harder in those areas, but what other profession polices itself as much and as openly as we do? Sure, I am ashamed of the things some of us do, but I am also extremely proud of what others do. We publish the shameful stuff and our shortcomings in our own publications.

Why can't we publish the good stuff, the rest of our story? I say, 'Keep it up, Tod.' I am a lawyer, and I am proud of what we do.

Steve Everhart

Criminal Law Section chair

Foster Kids

I was thrilled to read the article in the November 1 News about the Summer Fun For Kids Program in Miami, which...