2009 Illinois ABOTA President
Geoffrey L. Gifford
I have recently assumed the office of the president of ABOTA, Illinois Chapter. I have also just returned from a two day intensive seminar put on by National ABOTA. It seems very appropriate that I communicate with the membership and report to you about the work and accomplishments of the National organization as well as the plans and agenda for our local state chapter.
The mission of ABOTA is, of course, nuanced in many ways, but, as it celebrates its 50th, anniversary its primary focus is that of ensuring the right to trial by jury in civil cases and the independence of the judiciary.
Did you know that the Declaration of Independence was in part motivated by the King’s denial of trial by jury? Did you know that the 1778 Constitution was almost defeated because it did not contain a right to trial by jury? Did you know that the first state to vote voted “No” on the Constitution? Had it not been for the addition of the Bill of Rights, and its 7th Amendment the Constitution may very well have gone down as just another failed experiment in self governing.
The organization has 6,300 members nationwide and is made up of 93 chapters with at least one in every state. Our state chapter consists of much of Illinois with the exception of the southern part of the state which is part of the Missouri- Southern Illinois Chapter. We, as do all chapters, maintain an equal number of civil plaintiff’s and defense lawyers of the very highest caliber. These lawyers are “peer reviewed” in a most literal sense and are then entrusted and encouraged to carry the ABOTA message to other prospective applicants. Hopefully all of you reading this will take a few moments to reflect on several colleagues who merit consideration. If so please contact our membership chair, Christopher T. Hurley at his website and he will advise you on the protocol for shepherding prospective members.
As a follow up to that request we both, on the National and local chapter levels, wish to encourage and promote diversity in our membership. In fact I have, as your president, just prepared a statement from out local chapter regarding our commitment to increasing the number of women and minorities in our organization. Any help is encouraged and would greatly be appreciated.
The accumulation of the requisite number of jury trials becomes even more difficult as the number of trials to verdict, both statewide and nationally continue to diminish through no fault of the fine trial lawyers among us. There are local option rules that permit the applications of the younger lawyers with fewer trial opportunities to flourish in ABOTA. So, to clarify your reflections on young “stars” out there, contact Mr. Hurley and he will inform you of the methods to achieve membership for people you deem well qualified.
As I mentioned, a primary goal of ABOTA is to fight for and protect the rights of judges to dispense justice in an independent environment without fear of reprisal. On the occasions where the media or others report out of ignorance or, rarely, malice, our leaders will attempt to calm the hysterical and balance the debate. Most importantly, because judges are unable by their ethical rules to respond to unfair criticism, we help them and point out the need to allow the judicial and deliberative process to work itself through.
As a result of out balanced membership, our dedication to the jury system and our willingness to stand up for the judiciary we find that most judges feel very comfortable with our agenda and our mission, thus promoting camaraderie and good will between Bench and Bar. That will certainly be upper most in my goals as president for the next 2 years.
Just to name a few of the functions of the organization at the national level that intend to promote civility and , professionalism by the Bench and Bar; the American Civil Bar Roundtable made up of various legal associations, codes of professionalism for both judges and lawyers, Model Jurors Handbook and Principles of Civility, Integrity and Professionalism. In addition there will be a National Jury Summit in San Francisco this April.
Various programs on civility and professionalism together with video, and written support are available from ABOTA.
Probably the three accomplishments of the national organization which most inspired me were the Justice by the People Project, The Journalists Law School, and International Masters in Trial JBTP is an internet based at Scholastic. Comm\American Justice web site where any of 3.6 million educators can review and acquire the Justice by the People information for middle school students (grades 5-8) who make up 51 million citizens together with 76 million parents. In as much as Federal Law requires teachers to teach a Constitution related curriculum on September 17th of each year as National Constitution Day there is good data to indicate that, to date, over 6,000,000 middle school students in this country have been students of the full program. The website is available worldwide 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The Journalist Law School or JLS is taught each year for 3 ½ days at Law School of Loyola University of Los Angeles. Sponsored journalists of various ABOTA chapters attend an intense awareness program regarding law and procedure. Basic terminology and other concepts are covered so that the 140 or so who attend each year are able to return to their venues with a much greater regard for the obligation to report activities in the legal system accurately.
The International Masters in Trial, IMIT, are just getting a full head of steam. But the two done in Latvia and Portugal were very dramatic. In countries with no jury trial experience, poor Bench – Bar relations, and dramatic mistrust about how judges function these trial participation demonstrations with ABOTA and local talent seem to have had dramatic impact both on the host country and the visiting ABOTA lawyers. Only one other country has an established civil jury system and that, in England, is only in Libel cases. So, the opportunity for even judges and lawyers to connect via the “jury” is quite unprecedented. I was told that programs in Japan and Korea are under consideration. I was also told that ABOTA members who wish to participate are welcome to contact the National ABOTA and suggest your qualifications to participate. In any event this program is truly spreading democracy. In my view the right to jury trial is a form of participatory democracy as important as the right to vote.
As you can tell by the preceding comments the activities of the organization are quite impressive for the interests of citizens who also happen to be trial lawyers. On a local level we too have been quite active.
We are involved with other organizations in either supporting or analyzing proposed legislation which affects the ability of jurors to serve and not jeopardize their jobs. The ISBA and ABOTA for example, supports legislation to reduce the economic hardship of jury service. Also attached is a proposal suggesting service via electronic mail if the attorney or party have consented to such service. It is vital that we support our “talk” with our “walk”.
My plans for the next two years are to continue the traditions of the past in honoring our judiciary on Law Day and at the end of the year with Judge of the Year luncheons. I also want to press ahead with adding members, and increasing the diversity of our chapter. We also plan to host an MIT in 2010.
Any suggestions for a better ABOTA, Illinois Chapter will be gratefully received. Please keep an eye or two on our new website for information and updates on our schedule of activities. Become more active in ABOTA!
