President's Column— it Matters

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Citation: Vol. 44 No. 3 Pg. 5
• Publication year: 2018
• Pages: 5
• topic: Civil Rights,Constitutional Law

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN— It Matters Vol. 44 No. 3 Pg. 5 Vermont Bar Journal Winter, 2018

Gary L Franklin, Esq.

So, recently I was preparing a client for a deposition. In covering his background, he shared with me his military experience while serving in Vietnam. As an infantry soldier he saw substantial combat. What really struck me though was his experience of walking through villages as part of a heavily armed platoon where, in that moment, he and his comrades shared absolute power. The rule of law did not exist. In contrast, he told me that a deposition, while part of an unfamiliar and cumbersome legal process, "shouldn't be a problem."

Churchill's famous remark about a democracy being the worst form of government except all others that have been tried, immediately came to mind. While we gripe about increasingly ineffective government and protracted litigation, often with good reason, we have to keep it in perspective. Living in a society that subscribes to the rule of law with due process and an independent judiciary...