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Dear
George:
Although I share some of Chace Anderson's concerns,
my problem with Maurice's proposal -- and with
some of the other rhetoric that flies over the notion of having an informed
populace -- is more basic. I think that it is important to remember that
we have a representative democracy, not a participatory democracy. We elect
leaders whom we trust, and who accept the responsibility of making sometimes
difficult decisions. Although I don't agree with the positions of all of
the members of Council on all things, I trust that they are honest, conscientious,
and hard-working -- and, for the most part, they are and have been in the
last 20 years that I have been following things. I trust them to choose
BAR members intelligently, and I wouldn't participate in a process to help
select BAR members even if Council were (unwisely) to make the process public.
Our founders -- Madison, in particular -- had a clear notion that
wewould elect people who would make decisions for us. It was the intention
of the Framers that we have a process that did not necessarily respond to
the winds (or whims) of political popularity. Sometimes that has been a
right-leaning influence; continuing with an unpopular war in Vietnam comes
to mind. Sometimes that has been a left-leaning
influence; if submitted to a popular vote right now, the Bill of Rights
would be repealed.
It is with wisdom that we have a representative democracy. Every
proposal like Maurice's sounds high-minded; after all, who can argue with
a goal of increasing public participation? But every proposal, and the rhetoric
that accompanies it, has a risk of diminishing in the public mind the perception
of the competence and authority of Council. Who would want to be on Council
if the expectation was that your job was simply to mirror the sentiments
of the people in the room at the time? It is important that we reaffirm
our commitment to a representative form of government; that we vote for
people for Council who will do what they perceive to be right whether or
not it is popular; and that we continue to elect people in whom we can repose
that confidence.
By the way, to agree with Chace Anderson, I know a number of very
good lawyers who have said that they will never seek a judgeship if it means
having to go through the public grinder that accompanied the 1998 judicial
selection process. The crowds at the Roman Colosseum thought that pitting
Christians against lions was good sport, too.
Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, February 8, 2000).
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