by RICH CASSIDY on AUGUST 31, 2010
With a sad divergence to note the death of my friend David Gibson, my recent posts have described some of the more interesting events that I anticipated, or actually experienced, at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association in San Francisco. There is so much going on at such a big, multifaceted meeting, that no one person can take it all in, let alone begin to describe it all.
The centerpieces of any ABA Annual or Mid Year meeting are the sessions of the ABA House of Delegates. The House is the ultimate authority that controls the Association. But with a membership of over 500 members representing state, territorial, and local bar associations, the sections of the ABA, the members of the Association in each state, and some special constituencies, the House operates more like a legislative body than a corporate board. As a practical matter, most Association management decisions are left to the smaller ABA Board of Governors, and the attention of the House of Delegates is focused on the adoption of resolutions that express the policy of the ABA. There are some exceptions, such as the decisions about member dues described in my post of July 23, 2010, “ABA Across the Board Dues Cut Postponed.”
But most of the House’s resolutions are aimed at external audiences such as the Congress or state and local governments.
House resolutions are normally circulated in advance and objections and concerns are identified and worked out through the House’s listserv, emails, telephone conversations and caucus meetings occurring before House action begins on the floor.
In future posts, I’ll write about a few of the most interesting of this years’ resolutions, including two resolutions intended to implement the Associaton’s Civil Gideon initiative.
Another highlight of the House’s meeting are remarks made to the House in its role as the representative body of the Association.
This year, the Association presented its highest award, the ABA Medal, to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Justice Ginsberg’s remarks displayed her obviously capable intellect, but more interesting, her gentile and unassuming manner. The headline from her remarks was her call for the United States Senate to return to bi-partisan consideration of judicial nominees. She said: “May the Senate one day return to the collegial and bipartisan spirit that Justice [Stephen G.] Breyer and I had the good fortune to experience.” She acknowledged the man she called her greatest cheerleader, tax lawyer nonpareil and Georgetown law professor, her recently deceased husband, Martin E. Ginsberg.
She also exhorted the ABA to continue its efforts toward the full realization of Susan B. Anthony’s vision of equality between men and women in our nation and world.
You can see and hear Justice Ginsberg’s remarks:
And incoming ABA President Steve Zack addressed three subjects of importance to him. He noted the difficulties the federal and state governments are having providing adequate funding for our system of justice. Zack argued the system is a key element of what makes democracy work and suggested that failure to fund the system sufficiently imperils democracy. Zack also suggested that disaster preparedness is a key to preserving our justice system. Finally Zack, himself a Jewish Cuban-American, sought to promote further diversity in the ABA by appointing a Commission to focus on the fastest growing American minority, Hispanics. You can see and hear his speech here: