"A nail-biting cliff
hanger. Unexpected, startling twists, and turns at every corner and in the
middle of the block. Tension and anxiety build to near unbearable levels." A movie review? Oral argument before 2/6? No. This is how PJ Gilbert describes To Establish Justice for All: The Past and Future of Civil Legal Aid in the United States, recently published by retired 2/7 Justice Earl Johnson. According to PJ Gilbert's column in today's DJ (Justice for All), this three-volume work is "filled with adventure, drama, philosophy, politics, psychology and ethics." The article offers some surprising quotes from the likes of Donald Rumsfeld ("A vigorous legal services program is, in my judgment, an essential
element in this Nation's efforts to deal with problems of the poor") and Richard Nixon ("As lawyers our first responsibility is, of
course, to see that the legal profession provides adequate representation for
all people in our society.... [T]here is no subject which is more important to
the legal profession, that is more important to the nation, than ... the
realization of the ideal of equal justice under the law for all"). Other players include Teddy
Roosevelt, Charles Evans Hughes, Sargent Shriver, Lewis Powell, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, Walter Mondale, Newt Gingrich,
Philip Gramm, Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falk, and Justices Cruz Reynoso, Stuart Pollak, and Laurie Zelon.
Want to know more? (Of course you do!) Then read the book and come to this event March 12 at the LA Law Library:
March 12, 2014,
6:30 – 8:00 p.m., TO ESTABLISH JUSTICE FOR ALL: The Past and Future of Civil
Legal Aid in the United States
Justice Earl Johnson Jr. will
discuss his new book, which explores the history of civil legal aid in the US,
a history in which he played a major role.
Justice Johnson will be introduced by City Attorney Mike Feuer.
1 hour general
MCLE credit. Appellate specialization
credit being investigated; Price $35, or $90 for the full series. This is the third in the Friends of
the L.A. Law Library’s winter speaker series. Co-sponsored by the LACBA ACS, Public Counsel, the Western Center on Law on Poverty and the Legal Aid
Foundation of Los Angeles.
P.s. -- Still need more reading material on the pursuit of justice? Click
here.
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