| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — OCTOBER 2007 |
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LAF-OFF Returns by Popular Demand
The Campaign for Equal Justice invites you to the third
LAF-OFF (Legal Aid Fundraiser Originated by Fios and Friends).
Oregon attorneys and legal professionals are joining forces
to support the 2007 LAF-OFF Comedy Competition, using humor
to support Oregon’s legal aid programs. The event takes
place Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, at McMenamins Mission Theatre
in Portland. Tickets are available for two shows, one at 6
p.m. and the second at 9 p.m. Kerry Tymchuk, state director
for Sen. Gordon Smith, will return as emcee.
Corporate sponsors will be treating the comedy patrons to beverages and snacks — appetizers or desserts, depending on the time of the show. The Mission Theater is a full-service McMenamins pub with a full menu available for those who would like to purchase dinner during the show.
"Oregon has a lot of really funny lawyers, no joke," boasts CEJ board chair Ed Harnden. "The last two LAF-OFF competitions have brought out a talented group of armchair comedians, some of whom could quit their day jobs of practicing law and join the comedy club circuit. This is a really fun way to support Oregon’s statewide legal aid programs."
The money raised through this year’s LAF-OFF will help provide legal counsel to hundreds of people in need each year.
More information about LAF-OFF, the Campaign for Equal Justice, and legal aid can be found by visiting www.cej-oregon.org. Click on the event link to find out which lawyer-comedians are performing during the early and late shows. Or e-mail laf-off@cej-oregon.org for more information and to order tickets.
Judge Ashmanskas to
Retire
U. S. Magistrate Judge Donald C. Ashmanskas has announced
his retirement, effective Jan. 31, 2008. Judge Ashmanskas has
served as a federal judge for 15 years. Prior to his federal
service, he served as a state district and circuit court judge
for Washington County for 17 years. The vacancy created by
his departure will be filled by appointment.
Invitation from U.S.
District Court Historical Society
The Oregon U.S. District Court Historical Society
invites bar members to attend its annual meeting and dinner
on Oct. 30, 2007, at the Governor Hotel in Portland, featuring
a presentation by former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Betty
Roberts. A social hour will begin at 5:30, to be followed
by dinner at 6:30. Additional details, including the flyer
with reservation information, will be posted on the society’s
website at: http://www.usdchs.org/events.php.
Are Appointed Judges
Better Than Elected Judges?
According to the faculty blog for the University of
Chicago Law School, everyone assumes that the answer is yes,
but the evidence perhaps suggests otherwise. The paper under
discussion, called "Professionals or Politicians: The
Uncertain Empirical Case for an Elected Rather than Appointed
Judiciary," is available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1008989.
Tidbits from the abstract: "Although federal judges are appointed with life tenure, most state judges are elected for short terms. Conventional wisdom holds that appointed judges are superior to elected judges because appointed judges are less vulnerable to political pressure. However, there is little empirical evidence for this view … The empirical results do not show appointed judges performing at a higher level than their elected counterparts. Appointed judges write higher-quality opinions than elected judges do, but elected judges write many more opinions, and the evidence suggests that the large quantity difference makes up for the small quality difference. In addition, elected judges do not appear less independent than appointed judges. The results suggest that elected judges are more focused on providing service to the voters (that is, they behave like politicians), whereas appointed judges are more focused on their long-term legacy as creators of precedent (that is, they behave like professionals)."
Louis Brandeis Documentary
The national TV marketing department at Oregon Public
Broadcasting thought the Oregon legal community would enjoy
knowing about an upcoming program about the life and times
of an interesting Supreme Court justice. "Louis Brandeis:
The People’s Attorney" will air on OPB on Monday,
Oct. 22 at 10 p.m.
Law Life Imitates Comic
Art
Beginning this month, the OSB Bulletin is
pleased to add a new cartoon, called "Jest Is For All," which
is drawn by Massachusetts attorney Arnie Glick. Glick, a
graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, says that there
are similarities between creating an effective cartoon caption
and writing a cogent legal argument: "In both you need
to carefully focus on the precise message that you want to
communicate, so that the reader will react in the way that
you’ve intended." Of course, adds Glick, "The
trick is to make sure that, of the two, it’s the cartoon
that gets the laugh."