May 1 was Law Day in the U.S.  This annual event was first celebrated in 1957 by the American Bar Association.  It was established for the nation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, and in 1961, Congress declared that it would henceforth be a day for celebrating our legal system. 

Each year, the president endorses a theme selected by the American Bar Association.  This year’s theme was “Liberty under law:  empowering youth, assuring democracy.”  As this theme sounded very nice, natural curiosity took me to the Internet to see what the world was saying about it. 

I started with the press release from the White House and then went about gathering news and views.  

President Bush’s proclamation stated, “Today, we strive to prepare our next generation of leaders to carry on America’s tradition of freedom and democracy…These young men and women will shape the future of our country, and their spirit and character will help promote justice, equality, and opportunity throughout our country.”

Speaking on the theme and the state of our next generations at an event organized by the Litchfield Bar Association, Judge Charles D. Gill expressed shame at the fact that each state in the U.S. spends more on its institutions of imprisonment than on its institutions of higher education.  Judge Gill went on to eloquently describe the plight of our children, who remain the future of our country:

“More than 1 million American children are not living at home.  This afternoon, they are in foster care, institutions, or they are on the streets.  We have 3 million in this country, and where it says ‘father’ on their birth certificates there is a blank.  We have 15 million children in this country who have little or no contact with their fathers, and, for 1.5 million kids, if they want to say goodnight to their daddies, they have to call a prison.”

His words demonstrate how crucial it is to focus on the upbringing of our future generations.

President Bush’s proclamation also stated, “As we observe Law Day, we celebrate our Nation’s legal heritage and honor those who work to advance the cause of justice.”

Speaking at the Law Day event organized by the Albany Bar, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo proposed that the State of New York consider implementing a program financing the repayment of educational loans to attract the best law students to public service. 

The attorney general rightly pointed out that going into public service should not require professionals to choose between providing for their families and doing good for their communities.  Cuomo believes the prohibitive burden of educational loans steers the best law students toward private employment.

Additionally, Chief Judge Judith Kaye has been attempting to streamline the justice system by making it possible for courts to focus on related matters in single trials.  Her proposals, which have been openly supported by Governor Eliot Spitzer, advocate tying together cases arising from the same event that have been separated based on laws of procedure. 

For instance, Kaye suggests, if a family is in a child custody battle in a family court, contesting a domestic violence crime in a county court, and, at the same time, conducting divorce and related civil matters in a state’s supreme court, there should be special machinery that integrates the related cases and issues into a single matter for adjudication.  Doing so would save both the state and the litigants time and money while serving the cause of justice.

If the proposals forwarded in Albany on Law Day can be implemented, our nation’s youth will be empowered to serve the public good, and the rule of law will be applied more effectively.

I do not know how far the other proposals introduced in Albany will go, but I wholeheartedly support Cuomo’s proposition concerning the repayment of educational loans by the state.  The problem with most democracies is that they have adequate laws but inadequate enforcement.
Adequate enforcement of laws can only happen when the best and the brightest join public service.  Sadly, the burden of educational loans has proven to be an insurmountable barrier for those who would opt to serve the public. 

State-sponsored educational loan repayment programs can provide opportunities to help young lawyers and the legal system at the same time.  I hope all of the states in our country consider this novel idea with the seriousness it deserves.

Happy belated Law Day.  Remember that for every crime committed, for every atrocity perpetrated against the community, there are thousands that are prevented every day by the rule of law that still governs our country.