From Our Readers
| Publication year | 1990 |
| Pages | 1075 |
| Citation | Vol. 19 No. 6 Pg. 1075 |
1990, June, Pg. 1075. From Our Readers
Chris Brauchli purported to speak for all members of the Colorado Bar Association in his "Message" in the April issue [page 627] in which he took President Bush to task for statements made by his press secretary which denigrated the legal profession. This was undoubtedly a proper bar function although one might argue that he was writing to the wrong person.
Our leader then entered into a diatribe against the "Republican" and "Reagan" administrations, making statements which were essentially political in nature. I submit that such statements were improper as purporting to represent the entire bar association, and I can assure Mr. Brauchli that he did not speak for a significant segment of the state bar, myself included.
I question whether it is proper for a state bar group, albeit not an "integrated bar," to engage in partisan politics. Although I do not have access to the organic documents of the respective associations, I further question whether such activity jeopardizes our bar's standing with the American Bar Association. If nothing else, it was poor taste for our president to advance a particular political point of view. Chris already has a ready-made forum, namely, his cutesy little column, in which he can---and frequently does---bash those who disagree with him philosophically.
I would, therefore, ask two questions: (1) Was Mr. Brauchli's message in violation of state and/or national bar association precepts? (2) If not, where do I go to find an association that will represent me in matters which pertain only to lawyers and the legal profession?
Very truly yours,
Howard C. Current, Esq.
Longmont, Colorado
The "diatribe" to which Mr. Current refers consisted of the statement by me which read as follows: "It is more especially distressing when the last eight years of a Republican administration have resulted in untoward and unfortunate cuts in legal services to the poor. Because of the unwillingness of the Reagan administration to adequately fund the Legal Services Corporation, many of the legal needs of the poor in this country have depended on the good will and generosity of members of the legal profession."
The facts are that in fiscal year 1981 the Legal Services Corporation's budget was $321,000,000. In fiscal year 1990 the budget was $316,000,000, its highest level since 1981. Even so, in 1981 dollars that translates into a 40 percent cut in funding. In eight out of nine years of budgets prepared by the Reagan administration, eight recommended total elimination of funding for the Legal Services Corporation. To describe those results as "untoward and...
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