FROM THE DEKALB BAR PRESIDENT: Securing the Blessings of Liberty in an Adverse Economy
by Denise Warner
DBA PresidentDenise Warner
The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States is a powerful testament to the framers’ intent to create a happy, healthy and productive nation.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.”
The recession has hit the legal profession in unprecedented proportions. I bet the framers of the Constitution did not contemplate to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” only if there is enough money in the budget.
On a weekly basis, we read articles about law firms and government agencies laying off hundreds of lawyers. If you are in private practice, you are concerned about whether your client is going to pay the retainer. If you are a government employee, you are concerned about unpaid holidays and furloughs.
What about the average citizen? For years, many people have chosen to represent their own legal interests because they did not have the money to retain an attorney. Inasmuch as it may be difficult to tackle evidentiary rules, pro se litigants always get a fair opportunity to present their liberty, property, custodial and equitable concerns before the court.
But what happens when there is not enough money for the courts to administer justice? The parties and the community will be affected with unforeseeable consequences because it is difficult for the courts to “insure domestic Tranquility” when there is not enough money in the budget to address cases that involve public safety concerns.
Last year the DeKalb County Superior Court disposed of 6,327 felony cases and processed 4,558 criminal indictments. These cases include murders, rapes, robbery and aggravated assaults. Defendants have the constitutional right to a trial by jury as well as the right to a speedy trial. Budget cuts could cause the court to either delay the trial or require the court to absolutely discharge and acquit the defendant of the offense charged in the indictment.
Defendants enter a trial with a presumption of innocence. However, do you want a possible murderer, rapist or child molester released into your community because the court could not conduct a trial?
How do you tell the 1,762 victims of domestic violence that we just can’t get to your case today?
To “promote the general Welfare” of DeKalb County citizens, the Superior Court clerk accepted 9,568 domestic case filings, in 2008. There were many parties who requested the court system resolve their child support, divorce and custody matters. Thousands of children depend on our judges to determine what is in their best interest and what will best promote the child’s welfare and happiness. Which child do we say “wait” to?
Please contact your state legislator and county commissioner to discuss the negative impact cutting the court system’s budget will have on our community. I do not have an answer to the recession, but I do agree that “Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have a safe Holiday season.