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Judicial Campaigns: Judges Should Protect Rights of All
Exactly when did the ideal judicial candidate stop being "firm but
fair" and instead become "tough on crime"?
I was frankly dismayed by recent campaign commercials like John
Siefert's, which warned that the last thing we need is a judge who
stands up for criminals, or like Sharren Rose's, which proudly promised
that she would protect the rights of victims and not criminals.
These campaigns imply that a person who respects the constitutional
rights of the accused has no business being a judge. At best, this is
cynical pandering to the public's fear of crime. At worst, it is a
dangerous departure from a justice system premised upon an unbiased
judiciary and a presumption of innocence.
I've always thought judges were supposed to protect the rights of all
persons who come before them. If a judicial candidate's primary concern
is the conviction and punishment of criminal defendants, perhaps he or
she should be running for district attorney instead.
I've also thought that attorneys were supposed to educate the public
about important legal principles, rather than to fan the flames of
public outrage over perceived flaws in the justice system. I hope that's
not expecting too much from my brothers and sisters of the bar.
Sean N. Duffey
Milwaukee
Kudos to Public Interest Law Feature
Kudos to the May Wisconsin
Lawyer and Dianne Molvig for the excellent and timely article on
the new
public interest lawyers. Cutbacks in legal service funding often
lead to a dismal picture of the possibilities for a public interest
career. This article highlights the continued enthusiasm and imagination
of lawyers and law students in our state committed to helping
underrepresented people and causes. The lawyers' work mirrors the
variety of thriving sites for practice that I see nationally: nonprofit
organizations, social service agencies, and private firms. The one
omission is the extremely valuable and lively pro bono work by many
Wisconsin attorneys.
I am also pleased that you noted the importance of law school support
for public interest lawyers. Public interest fellowships, career
counseling and mentoring, and pro bono opportunities as well as loan
forgiveness programs should be integral elements of law school
education.
Louise G. Trubek
Center for Public Representation
U.W. Law School
Multidisciplinary Practices: Rules Allow Attorneys to Issue Title
Insurance
Dianne Molvig's article regarding multidisciplinary
practices in the April issue was very interesting and useful. As
managing attorney for the Wisconsin operations of a bar-related title
insurance company, I would like to clarify one point made in the
article.
Ms. Molvig notes correctly that, under the Code of
Professional Responsibility, codified in the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Rules, lawyers "can hold ownership in ancillary businesses - that is,
outside law-related operations." Ms. Molvig continues, "The rules
prohibit Wisconsin attorneys, however, from bringing any of these
services inside their law firms." To the extent that the rules would
prohibit operating a separate business entity from within a law
practice, this assertion would appear to be correct. The State Bar of
Wisconsin Professional Ethics Committee warned against such a practice
in Section 3 of Formal Opinion
E-85-5 (Law and Title Insurance Practice).
Readers should be advised, however, that there is no Supreme Court
Rule prohibiting attorneys from issuing title insurance as direct
attorney agents. In fact, Formal Opinion E-85-5, Section 1, states that
"an attorney may engage simultaneously in the practice of law and in
title insurance writing and should observe the restrictions of the Code
of Professional Responsibility when engaging in either profession." This
statement comports with Supreme
Court Rule 20:1.7(b), which would permit an attorney to represent a
party to a real estate transaction and also act as title insurance
agent, provided the respective interests of the client and the title
insurer are generally in harmony. (See SCR
20:1.7, "Comment: Loyalty to a Client," and "Other Conflict
Situations.")
My compliments on an otherwise excellent article.
James E. Powers
Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund Inc.
Madison
Multidisciplinary Practices: A Correction
Congratulations on writing one of the clearest examinations of the
multidisciplinary practices issue I have seen!
I should point out, however, that the article incorrectly identifies
me as a member of the ABA Commission on MDP. In fact, I testified at the
commission's public hearing in November, and I have submitted a couple
of documents to the commission since then, but I am not a member.
Prof. L. Harold Levinson
Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, Tenn.
Wisconsin Lawyer
