A Time to Make a Diff erence

• Author: Bob Carlson
• Pages: 8-8

8 || ABA JOURNAL APRIL 2019

PHOTO BY TOM SALYER PHOTOGRAPHY

President’s Message || By Bob Carlson

Follow Preside nt Carlson on Twitter @ABAPre sident or email abapr esident@america nbar.org.

A Time to Make a Dif erence

ABA of ers lawyers opportunities to get involved

with government at ABA Day, Law Day

The American Bar Association is

always busy, holding meetings, conduct-

ing CLEs, eva luating judges, developing

model rules and accrediting law schools.

But this spring i s particularly exciting a s

the ABA conducts two events just weeks

apart that allow lawyers to interac t with

their government and sh ape people’s

understanding of it .

From April 9-11, ABA Day will bring

together ABA leaders w ith state and local

bar members from across t he country to

take the message of law yers to Congress.

Less than th ree weeks later, we will cel-

ebrate Law Day 2019 , with this year’s top-

ical theme of “Free Speech, Fre e Press,

Free Society.”

Each year, the ABA thr ough its

Governmental A  airs O ce coordi-

nates ABA Day so that law yers can

come to Capitol Hill and advoca te for

issues of importance t o the legal profes-

sion. Lawyers from arou nd the coun-

try wil l make their case as constituents,

face-to-fac e, with their congressional

representatives.

This e ort has long been success-

ful. In Februar y, more funding ($5 million) was pro-

vided for the Legal Ser vices Corp., and an additional

$15 million was budgeted for disa ster legal aid . Last

year, ABA members’ e orts were instrumenta l in sav-

ing the Department of Justice’s Legal O rientation

Program for prospective immigr ants. The orientation

program provides infor mation to people navigating

the immigration proces s.

This year, under the guid ance of ABA Day Chair

Deborah Enix-Ross, we w ill request additional funds

for LSC to try to mee t the growing need, and we will

address issues that a  ect attorneys and the ru le of

law. We welcome all members to get involved. If you

cannot make it to Washingt on, you can still join our

grassroots e orts.

ABA Day also gives u s a chance to recognize mem-

bers of Congress for their comm itment to justice.

This year, we will honor Sen. Dan Su llivan (R-Alaska)

for his support of LSC fundi ng; Sens. Jerry Moran

(R-Kansas) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) for their

help saving the Legal Or ientation Program; Rep.

Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) for his bac king

of Public Service L oan Forgiveness; and

Reps. Vicente Gonza lez (D-Texas) and

Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) for their a ssis-

tance in upholding the independence of

the legal profession.

On May 1, the ABA moves to a nother

noteworthy celebration—Law Day—

where this year we wi ll explore free

speech and free press , two of the most

important foundations for a fre e society.

Signifi c ant disagreements between the

scope and limits of these f reedoms dom-

inate public discourse, a nd some have

been litigated in cour ts.

Our nation’s founders recognized the

signifi c ance of these freedoms. George

Washington said that if fre e speech was

taken away, “dumb and silent we may be

led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

Thomas Je erson wr ote: “Our liberty

depends on the freedom of the press, and

that cannot be limit ed without being

los t.”

On Law Day, we will examine ques-

tions about these freedoms and t heir

place in our society. Should all speech be f ree? What is

the role of government in regulating or prote cting the

press? Should free speech or the press be cons trained

through laws? Can a free socie ty exist without these

freedoms? Programs w ill be held around the country.

As part of the Law Day fes tivities, we will release

the results of the ABA’s fi rst nat ional survey of civic

knowledge. We want to know how familiar ord inary

Americans a re with the basic legal and constitutional

concepts that underlie our nation’s government, espe-

cially the rule of law and , of course, free speech and

free press.

Our justice syst em cannot function without public

trust and support. Th is spring, the ABA o ers oppor-

tunities to be involved and engage d, so our govern-

ment remains of the people, by the people and for the

people.

As Frankl in D. Roosevelt noted, “Government is

ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ult i-

mate rulers of our democrac y are not a president and

senators and congressmen and gover nment o cia ls,

but the voters of this countr y.” Q

“FREE SPEECH AND

FREE PRESS [ARE]

TWO OF THE

MOST IMPORTANT

FOUNDATIONS FOR

A FREE SOCIETY.”

—BOB CARLSON