Lawyers must publicly promote the values of the Constitution.

• Author: Coker, Howard C.
• Position: Florida - President's Page

Lawyers have a special reverence and respect for the constitution--whether federal or state constitution. Those documents are the wellspring of our individual rights and responsibilities in a democracy. Our constitutions are the foundations for all laws, rules, and procedures in the justice system. And as importantly, those revered documents embody not only the Founding Fathers' vision for democracy, but also subsequent generations' expression for change. In other words, our constitutions are living documents, protecting the traditional values of a self-governing democracy but adapted to the modern political and social milieu.

The citizens of Florida have a unique and weighty opportunity to make relatively widescale changes in Florida's Constitution. Thirteen amendments and revisions will be on the November 3 general election ballot, embodying 35 changes to the state constitution. It is important to the well being of our state that citizens understand the relevance of the proposed changes and then vote their conscience--knowledgeably and rationally. It is especially important that the voices of a broad spectrum of our citizenry be expressed through the vote. Special interest votes cast on a handful of issues, combined with voter apathy or ignorance, would result in a devastating impact on the law and the general public good.

This issue of the Bar Journal provides an in-depth examination of the proposed changes to the Florida Consitution as well as a review of the process of how these proposals made it to the ballot.

A poll conducted in Florida during mid-July indicated that some 88 percent of likely voters had not "seen, read, or heard" about any of the amendments--despite the continuing news coverage of the Constitution Revision Commission, which held 12 public hearings and discussed, debated, and voted on recommended changes over the course of a year! Pollsters say people are likely to vote "no" on amendments they don't understand. Special-interest groups on both sides of the amendments/revisions are spending huge amounts of money seeking to influence the vote. The Florida Bar has taken no position on the amendments and revisions, except for Revision 7 which deals directly with the administration of justice. (See box below.)

Therefore, I am calling on the lawyers of The Florida Bar to publicly promote the values of the constitution. In formal meetings of community groups and in informal social situations, lawyers must speak up concerning...