North Brooklin, Maine
30 March 1973
Dear Mr. Nadeau:
As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.
Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society—things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly.
It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.
Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
Sincerely,
E. B. White
I usually choose a pithy, but short, quote to begin this column. However, given the recent Gallup poll regarding public opinion of the U.S. court system, I felt E.B. White’s complete letter to a man despairing of the future was an ideal place to start.
According to the poll, Americans’ confidence in their courts plunged from 59 percent to 35 percent over a four-year period. This is a record low. Pundits attributed this to a variety of causes, including recent decisions by the Supreme Court, Supreme Court justices receiving gifts, the influence of politics on judicial appointments, and certain high-profile jury verdicts that were either applauded or booed depending on political affiliation.
So, what can we do? How can we, as E.B. White puts it, “wind the clock” to improve our image? Here are three suggestions that will help others, the profession, and you.
Your time is a great gift. Shortly after I left the bench, our local bar association held a one-day expungement workshop. Many people showed up with the hope that clearing their record would help their job search.
Many who came to my table were surprised to see me. One said, “Hey, you were the one who sentenced me.” Another said, “You were the judge who sentenced my father.” The remarkable thing was that they didn’t seem to be mad at me. Instead, they were amazed that I was helping them.
There are many opportunities to help in person through local bar associations. But a very convenient way is through online platforms. See the resources listed below, then go to ABA Free Legal Answers to get started.
Through that platform I assisted a mother needing help in defending a petition by the father to retroactively reduce his support obligation. He had not paid support for years. When he was picked up on a body attachment, that finally got his attention. He hired an attorney to reduce an already substantial arrearage. A rather bold move in light of him not paying support for years.
I helped her as much as I could over the platform, but I was in New York; she was in Illinois. She needed an attorney in court. I reached out to a local attorney I had taught through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
He took her case. She emailed a long thank-you. Here is the first paragraph:
“First and foremost, this letter is of gratitude for your generosity. I was not expecting your gift, connecting me with [the local lawyer], I was in shock all day Monday. I cried myself to sleep that night. I am not sure you understand how your generosity will positively change future generations.”
The judge dismissed the father’s petition. She emailed me as I was writing this column. She had just received a scholarship to attend community college. She wants to become a lawyer.
When I was a new judge, I learned that I could submit a budget request for equipment for my courtroom. When my turn came during a judges’ meeting, I said, “I need a Sealy Posturepedic Mattress for my courtroom.”
After the senior judges recovered from thinking they had made a real mistake in giving me the job, they asked, “Why?” I said, “To cushion the fall when young people faint after hearing the fine for failure to provide proof of auto insurance.”
Back then, the secretary of state would send out requests to drivers asking them to provide proof of insurance. The request was complicated in my opinion, and some were not tied to any driving infraction. Adults ignored it. Young people certainly ignored it. If you did not respond, your plates were suspended. The fine was well over $1,000. This process is now online, and it is much easier to both understand and respond to.
I said we needed to go to the drivers’ education classes at the local high school and tell them about this. Our presiding judge said I should team up with the probation office and do broader issues than just driving. This resulted in the Seven Reasons to Leave the Party program. In 2009, the American Judicature Society awarded the program the Special Merit Citation.
This one program has now grown into six separate programs, all sponsored by the Illinois Judges Association. There are programs tailored for students from kindergarten through college. I suppose there is the perception that lawyers, and certainly judges, don’t like to get their hands dirty. I always got a bunch of smiles, and sometimes laughter, when students saw me, in my robe, on my hands and knees trying to plug the cord of my projector into a floor socket.
Finally, you don’t have to craft an entire program. Just let the school know you are willing to talk to a civics class. Good teachers are always looking for new ways to reach students.
Humility is a great trait. I find that people who do good things for others are hesitant to let others know about it. But those who do not like our justice system and the lawyers who practice in it are not at all shy about broadcasting that. We need to let the world know the good that we do.
So, post it. Let the media know you are doing it. Local reporters always covered our in-school programs. They needed content. Send your work to the local bar association. Let them take it from there.
If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us.
