The Legal Pad

The Majesty of the Law

No. This is not going to be one of those highfalutin, gooey discussions that you might hear at a law school. I don't know enough about law to know whether there's anything majestic about it. I know that a few weeks ago, I broke a law, and as a result, got a $110.00 speeding ticket. As I wrote the check out to The City of Jefferson, I didn't see anything majestic about the law. At my level of living, law is a practical thing; not a thing of beauty. But the phrase "The Majesty of the Law" does mean something to me, because I met Sandra Day O'Connor, retired justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, a few weeks ago.

I do not generally have much to do with U. S. Supreme Court justices. Actually, that's an understatement. I have nothing to do with any government official above the level of mayor. But Justice O'Connor was a guest of The Missouri Bar, giving the keynote speech at the National Summit on Defending Merit Selection, which the bar sponsored.

I didn't know much about Justice O'Connor, except what I have read in newspapers over the years. I also knew that she had written a book, The Majesty of the Law. Excuse my cynicism, but I was of the impression that anyone who could write a book with that title was full of hot, self-glorifying air. I was completely, 100 percent wrong.

I was expecting someone with an inflated ego and a top-heavy sense of self-worth. After all, she is the first woman to have sat on the U. S. Supreme Court. She led the way for thousands of other women in the legal profession. The articles I've read about her note the significance and quality of her legal opinions and her impact on our country's laws. When she was nominated to the Supreme Court, every senator voted in her favor.

I watched closely as the team of secret service agents escorted Justice O'Connor to the reception that was to precede her speech. She walked slowly and with a bit of difficulty. She does not rely on a cane or other people to support her, but it's clear that walking at age 81 takes a lot of effort for her. She has white hair and large eyes. When she speaks, she speaks with certainty and without reservation.

I won't dwell on how kind she was to the people she met. How she didn't mind them having their pictures taken with her; how she clearly enjoyed meeting, mingling, and talking with a group of lawyers who had come to hear her. She ate dinner at a table with the president of The Missouri Bar, his wife, and an assortment of other bar leaders. As people started their desserts, John Johnston, who was president of the bar then, introduced her.

Rather than tell you the content of her speech, I will focus on how she said it. She didn't lecture; she talked. She didn't talk about legal theories; she talked about her experiences -- about how she entered politics, how she ran for judge, how she was eventually appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court. She told stories. There was not a false or insincere note in her speech. It was direct. It was an 81-year-old saying here is what I saw during my life and what I experienced. Because her life had so much to do with courts and laws, she spoke with an intense and undeniable authority on the importance of justice in our lives and the life of our nation.

Now, there is nothing exceptional in that description of her speech. Lots of people speak honestly and from experience. What is exceptional -- was her effect on everyone in the audience. Imagine being in the audience when a great musician grabs hold of an audience and won't let go until the final note. Or when a great teacher has made difficult to grasp ideas seem as simple as child's play. You know that you are experiencing something special and you feel privileged. That is exactly how each person felt in that room in St. Louis. I confess -- that after hearing her speech -- I still do not know whether the law is majestic or not -- but I have no doubt that there is something majestic about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The Big Shift

I got up late this morning. Ugh. That's not good. Starting off late throws me off. It seems like the off-kilter feeling lasts all day long. As a result, I'm still discombobulated.

Have you been having a hard time getting up in the morning? Noticed any changes? We've been dealing with the non-ending oppressive heat and humidity and then -- it hits -- the sluggishness -- energy levels are down -- you feel like you can't get caught up, not enough hours in the day, and thoughts of sleeping in for just a few more minutes creep into your brain.

Something has shifted. Have you noticed it's darker in the mornings? Have you noticed the birds who were waking you up -- aren't getting you up like they were? I suspect they're sleeping in too. In a matter of two weeks -- we had The Big Shift -- and with that -- are all sorts of changes going on.

It's back-to-school time. Families are coping with all sorts of things that can be tough to deal with. The kids are all excited and wound up. Families are dealing with bus schedules, classroom schedules, sports activities, before-school stuff, after-school stuff, and homework assignments.

Adapting to this shift can be a challenge. It takes a lot of pre-planning and using your organizational skills.

Need a boost to get your brain on the right track? Take a few minutes to read this article from the American Psychological Association about the back-to-school blues. Can't hurt. Might help.

Bullied by the Economy? Fight Back

I think that if I were going to have a stroke, a heart attack, or a nervous breakdown, it would have happened last week. That had to be one of the most stressful weeks that I, you, and anyone else who followed the news has lived through.

One question was on everyone's mind -- Would the United States Congress come to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, or would they let the economic sky fall down on us average taxpaying citizens? I mention this not because you want to hear more opinions about our nation's politics, but because you work somewhere in the legal community, which means you work with other people. If last week didn't drive you crazy, congratulations. You must live on a higher mental plane than the rest of us.

As I write, it's about 100 degrees outside today. Stay out in the sun too long, and you could become dehydrated, sick, or delirious. I think of those old movies where someone is lost in the desert and sees this beautiful mirage. He runs to the oasis in his mind, bends down to scoop up a cool, refreshing handful of water, but ends up spitting sand out of his mouth.

One other image comes to mind. As a kid, I used to get a kick out of Charles Atlas muscleman ads in comic books. A skinny kid at the beach would get sand kicked in his face by a bully. Then the kid gets wise and buys the Charles Atlas muscle-building equipment so that he can stand up to the bully.

Last week was a real sand-spitter of a week. If your co-workers were crabby with you, let it go. If you weren't your usual self, forget about it. According to economists quoted in Kiplinger's Magazine, we are in for a rough spell of high unemployment and slow, slow growth. Pay isn't expected to increase in this environment, and monthly bills don't look like they're going to get smaller.

The thing to remember is that you are not powerless. This is a participatory democracy and a free society. You have a voice, a vote, and the ability to think for yourself. The next time you find yourself stressed out and bullied by the news -- economic or political -- remember that. It's not the people in Washington, D.C., who determine our fate. It's you and I, the voters, who determine the future.

Phil Lied

There's nothing to do about it. There's really no one to blame. Well...okay, maybe you could blame Mother Nature...but doing that doesn't make a difference. Nothing, at this point, makes a difference. The only option is to just go with it.

People are saying things like, "Well, it'll be over soon," or they'll say something clever like, "Well, it can always be worse." Yeah. Whatever. It IS worse.

Who cares? Everyone is cranky. Do you know anyone who isn't? Come on -- be honest. EVERYONE is cranky.

People in Missouri are cranky. People in New Jersey are cranky. People in Oklahoma are cranky. People in Colorado are cranky. People in Chicago and in Dallas are cranky.

We have a by-golly right to be cranky. We've all had enough.

I don't know about you -- but this year, I totally forgot Groundhog Day. I usually watch the chunky bugger from Pennsylvania and the big hoo-hah production over his yearly prediction. How did I miss that? Where was I? Oh yeah, now I remember. I was outside busy shoveling snow.

I'm pretty irritated with Punxsutawney Phil. More often than not, he sees his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter. What happened this year? He didn't see his shadow so that means we're supposed to have an early spring.

Really? REALLY? Has anyone looked out the window? I think Phil outright lied to us. It's his fault.

Never trust a groundhog.

 

Don't Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Whoo hoo! It's January! Time to roll out those resolutions. Out with the old -- in with the new. You have a fresh start -- a clean slate! What else? It's time for flu season!

Hear that coughing in your office? Hear the sneezing? Those are the clues. Let's run down the drill: If you didn't get a flu shot, there's still time for you to get one. Flu can be spread by droplets when others cough or sneeze. You can also pick up the flu from objects in the office that have been handled by others who are sick. Get out the disinfectant disposable wipes and swipe your phone, door handles, counters, copy machines, etc. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Be courteous toward others. Stay at home if you're sick. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Use tissues. Throw tissues in the trash after you use them. Wash your hands. Use soap and water. Good. You're covered, right? Maybe.

Here's something you may not know -- the money you're carrying around is probably contaminated. What? Ugh. You've got to be kidding. Nope. I'm not kidding.

Here are the facts according to CreditNet:

42% of bills have Staphylococcus aureus on them -- a nasty staph infection-causing bacterium

7% of all bills have E Coli bacteria on them

Rhinovirus is commonly found on currency and responsible for 1/3 of all common colds

BPA - this chemical carcinogen is found on over half of all notes. Bisphenol A is a hormone disrupting chemical

30% of US currency is contaminated with fecal bacteria

92% of all notes have traces of cocaine on them

Whoa. Those are some very interesting statistics, aren't they?

This morning I went to my local gas station and filled up my car. I walked in to find the gas station owner sneezing. He didn't cover his mouth. He just sneezed -- big time -- twice. I said, "God bless you." He said, "Thank you." I gave him my money and he gave me change. As I walked out and got into my car -- my paranoia kicked in. My thought was that I'll probably wind up getting the crud. The crud from his big sneezes was on his hands and now -- it's on the bills I just put in my wallet. Great.

So, can you catch the flu from money? Here's what the folks at Smart Money have to say about that: It doesn't get talked about much, but the fact is paper currency -- the dollars, fives, tens and twenties most people routinely touch every day -- can spread a virus from one person to another.

Need more? According to the Consumer Report Money Blog, paper currency has been deemed a good candidate for spreading swine flu.

Some of the articles I've read suggested you could use credit cards instead of money. Uh huh. Could it be that those articles are connected to the folks who would benefit from that? A conspiracy? I don't know.

Is there anything besides using credit cards that might help you to avoid catching something from the filthy money? Get all wound up with paranoia? Nah. Best advice out there? Pretty simple. Don't worry about it. If you do, you'll make yourself crazy. Frequent hand-washing with soap and water is still the best way to prevent infections and disease.

Time to buy some more soap. Time to wash my hands.

Elective Pain

For some folks, it's all about the food. For some, it's all about the football games. For some, it's the sheer entertainment of being in the middle of lively conversations during dinner. For others, it's the waiting in line in the wee hours to take advantage of the Black Friday mayhem the day after Thanksgiving. I don't get that. I never got that. Sounds like elective pain to me.

One of my co-workers loves the hunt. She is the Hunter-Gatherer Queen of Black Friday. She even has an entourage that accompanies her and over the years it's become an all-out Big Event (with a capital "B" and a capital "E"). One has to get pre-approved to be part of her group. They each have their assignments -- they make a list, compare prices, they make maps, get all wound up, and head out to battle!

Getting up early to stand in line, waiting for a store to open with a bunch of people who are also on the same kind of crazed mission -- is just too much stress for me. There is nothing I need or want that will get me involved to that degree of seriousness but some people just love it! For those of you who do, I hope you have a great time and find the best bargains!

There's lots of different ways to spend Thanksgiving. I've been to dinners where I was a guest and didn't have to do a thing. Memories of some of the very best holidays I've had were Thanksgiving dinners that were very simple -- making lots of buttery popcorn, ordering take-out pizzas, and picking up movies for an all-day movie marathon was great fun. A good time was had by all! One time, I made lasagna, salad, bread sticks and cheesecake for dessert instead of turkey and all the trimmings. It's a good way to surprise guests -- and who doesn't like lasagna?

On the other hand, creating a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, corn, pies, ice cream, etc. can be a huge undertaking. It takes lots of grocery shopping time, prep time, cooking time, and lots of effort on the part of the cook to have everything come out at the same time and taste good. When I've made a huge dinner like that, for me, it was a labor of love. But for others, they just think that's really nutty and prefer to eat out in a restaurant for dinner and not mess with all that work.

I guess when you think about it -- each and every one of us has our own elective pain about this holiday, don't we?

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Time to Judge the Judges

It can be tough, evaluating whether our public officials are doing their job or not. Ask a Democrat about a Republican politician, and you get one answer. Ask a Republican about a Democratic politician, and you'll get another. The problem is that most of the time politics color our perspective.

When it comes to Missouri's non-partisan judges, voters have an exceptional source of unbiased information about whether each judge deserves another term on the bench. The Missouri Judicial Performance Evaluation Committees, which were created several years ago by Missouri Supreme Court rule, offer an independent, unbiased, thorough evaluation of every non-partisan judge who will be standing for retention this November.

The committees are composed of lawyers and non-lawyers in equal number. To evaluate the judges, they rely on lawyer evaluations, juror evaluations, written opinions and orders. They weigh each of these sources of information for each judge, considering whether or not to issue a recommendation for voters to retain that judge for another term.

In addition to their recommendations, the committees provide the public with copies of the material and surveys they used to reach their recommendation. Click here  for the recommendations and complete evaluations and discussion of each judge.

 

Say Some Sentences to Me, Please

I read an article the other day that pointed out that emailing is going out of style. It's already yesterday's news. Let me correct that last statement. I mean, it's like an old tweet or an archived web page. The phrase, "yesterday's news" is fading from usage; even the image of an old, yellowed newspaper is one that seldom comes to mind in someone younger than 50. Most young people aren't newspaper readers. Anyway, newspapers are more likely to be found on a computer or a smartphone screen than in a sloppy pile in a corner of the living room. If you're a young person, you're using Facebook or you're texting. Maybe you're tweeting. But the odds are -- you aren't checking your gmail account much.

Email, by comparison to text messaging, is taking on the role of more formal, business communication. We're in the middle of a transition, brought to us by Al Gore, or whoever it was who started linking computers together. Instead of hearing the voices, the words, the tone of speech, or experiencing the thousands of small but important clues that let us know who it is we encounter in a day, we're more likely to read their bland sentences or sentence fragments. We're living our office lives at the speed of email. Instead of being asked to think long and hard about a problem, we're expected to think quickly and solve problems within a few hours, or even within minutes. Sometimes, immediately.

Is someone you know worth more than the 140 characters that you're allowed on Twitter? Has anything of significance ever been said in 140 characters or less? Your friends on Facebook -- are they really your friends? Some of them probably are, but most are just people you know, the kind of people who fit in somewhere in your social network. But that's not the same as friends -- the people you trust with your feelings and thoughts that are important and that are difficult to speak about. Facebook chatter is the sort of casual stuff you might say to someone you see at a party.

None of this is particularly earth-shattering news, but it's a matter of suprising consequence. Who we are cannot be separated from who we communicate with, how we communicate, and what we say.

Turn a Goose Egg into a Nest Egg

I got a haircut the other day. My typical "wait time" used to be two weeks or more. When I called to schedule an appointment, I was pleasantly surprised when my cutter said she could get me in the next day. After I got off the phone, I realized the same thing happened the last time I called. I got in right away.

When I went in, I asked her how things were going. She said business is down. Customers are stretching their appointments. Some of her clients are letting their hair grow out so they're just coming in for a trim or shape-up. The customers she has who color their hair are booking appointments every 12-14 weeks instead of the usual 6-8 weeks for touch-ups so, naturally colored roots that are growing in are more noticeable. Look around. You may have noticed a shift in hairstyles -- a little longer and change in color (or lack of it). To her dismay, some have taken to "do-it-yourself" coloring. Manicure and pedicure appointments are few and far between.

As a result, she's had to adjust too. She's thinking about using her daycare service on an "as-needed" basis instead of pre-paying a month at a time. This year, she won't be shopping for lots of new school clothes for her son. She plans to get him a new pair of sneakers and a couple of new shirts. He has clothes he can still wear -- until he hits another growth spurt. School supplies -- she'll get just what's necessary.

Their family insurance is through her husband's employer. They're nervous about changes that may happen to the health plan next year. She has some health problems and requires certain medicines. If her doctor changes her prescriptions, her concern is that the new health plan may not cover the medicines she needs.

The shift in her business has been slow but heading in the wrong way. Her income has taken a hit. Instead of talking about when the situation will improve -- now her concern is if it will improve -- and that's different.

There's also been a shift in the calls that come into The Lawyer Referral Service. In the last six months, the three most requested kinds of attorneys were for: employment law situations, family law matters, and consumer law situations.

Remember we wrote about keeping abreast of current events and reading articles written by knowledgeable people so that you and your family can plan ahead?

On July 27, 2010, Bob Herbert, in The New York Times, wrote an article about a report published by The Rockefeller Foundation called, Economic Security Risk.

The Rockefeller Foundation report points to three major risks to economic well-being: a change or loss in income, a serious medical occurence, and no nest egg built up to weather a financial crisis.

The report also reveals that at least half of all Americans do not have at least three months' worth of income set aside in order to deal with a loss in income or a serious medical situation. The report determined it takes people between six and eight years to recover to their previous level of income.

Of course, loss of income or serious out-of-pocket medical expenses -- are difficult to predict. Those two events are most threatening to one's sense of well-being and they lurk in the background. According to the report, one in five Americans indicated they would face financial hardship if they were forced to go for as little as two weeks without their current income.

Now -- the good news. More and more people have been encouraged to pay off their debts and save money -- and they are. On July 31, 2010, the Associated Press reported Americans saved 6.2% of their disposable income in the 2nd quarter -- the highest share in a year.

Having a nest egg is the first step to improving your ability to get through tough times. If you don't have one -- creating a nest egg might be a good idea. It's bound to improve your sense of well-being. The second step is to begin the process. It may take you a long time, but there's no better time than here and now.

Need some ways to save money? Maybe you have to trick yourself into it and think about it a little differently. Here are a few methods you can try.

If you have a decent checkbook balance -- subtract $500 or $1,000 from your balance right now. Most of us have a tendency to look at the balance line in our check registers. If you don't "see" the money there on your balance line -- you don't spend it. You can circle the amount to remind yourself it went into your "savings" (even though you did nothing but subtracted the amount). You can always figure out what you've saved and what your balance really is. That's the "out of sight - out of mind" method.

If your paycheck is deposited directly into your checking account -- when you know it's there, then physically go to the bank. Write a check for cash. Take out an amount you feel you can manage. Get $100 bills. Put the cash in a safe place in your house. This will require you to make an effort to get the cash and because of the large denomination, you may think twice before cashing a $100 bill. This is the "think before you spend" method.

If you have a checking account at one bank, open another account at a different bank for your savings. Go to a bank that is a little out of your way. Literally keeping your money in a different bank might work for you. You can use online banking to withdraw money and deposit it into the other account. Cut up the ATM card you'll get from the new bank. That way, you can get your savings only by physically going to the bank -- and the "delay" method might be enough to postpone dipping into your new savings account.

Creating a nest egg can be a challenge -- but if you do nothing -- the chances are it will be worse for you later. Your goal is to have three months' worth of income built up into a nest egg. If you lose your job, or you're faced with unforeseen medical expenses, you can offset that feeling of immediate panic.

If you think it's bad now -- wait another six months. The economy doesn't seem to be improving. It seems to be getting worse. Expect the best and prepare for the worst. If you aren't prepared, you may face total devastation down the road. No one is going to rescue you.

The Non-Partisan Whatsit? Plan

Unless you're a litigator who spends his/her time going to, in, or coming from court -- you probably have a fairly vague notion about the role of state judges. Unless you're a Civics teacher, the odds are that you have an even blurrier notion about something called the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan.

Missouri lawyers would like to bring the Non-Partisan Court Plan back into focus. It seems that most of us heard something about the Non-Partisan Court plan back in the eighth grade -- if we were paying attention, or if it made any sense to us. In a nutshell, the Non-Partisan Court plan is considered Missouri's gift to the art of governing. It's a way of selecting judges and then letting the people vote whether or not they should be retained on the bench.

The Plan was adopted by Missouri in 1940, and since then -- more than 30 other states have modeled part of their state court systems on the Plan.

Would you like to learn more about the Non-Partisan Court Plan? The Missouri Bar Speakers Bureau is currently providing groups throughout the state with 20-minute presentations about the Plan. As a public service, the Speakers Bureau provides its educational services for free.

To schedule a presentation for your group, call The Missouri Bar at 573-638-2251 or email Jack Wax at [email protected]