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CHAIR'S MESSAGE
Mary Massaron Ross is Chair of the Section and practices law with Plunkett & Cooney in Detroit, Michigan.
The Section of State and Local Government Law has embarked on an initiative to improve the Section's communications. At the ABA Midyear Meeting in Seattle, Washington, leaders of the Section gathered with ABA staff to develop a plan to better communicate the Section's mission, projects, and activities to its members and other audiences. The themes (and some of the language) that I have included in this column spring from the collaborative effort of ABA staff member Beth Akins and Section leaders who were in attendance at that meeting, including Patricia Salkin, Stephanie Brown, Terry Welch, Ben Griffith, Patricia Lynch, Ed Sullivan, Jim Baird, Dan Curtin, and Adrienne Dudley, as well as ABA Staff Director Jackie Baker. Among the messages that we want to convey is the notion that the Section is the first stop for lawyers committed to the idea that public law produces public benefit.
The role of lawyers engaged in public law and the inestimable benefits that they have brought to the public can be seen in any account of U.S. history. The majority of those who participated in the drafting of the Constitution were lawyers. One commentator observed that the "preponderance of lawyers may explain the often exhausting verbosity on the convention floor"-a point with which anyone who has observed the deliberations in the ABA House of Delegates might agree. CAROL BIRKIN, INVENTING THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION 49 (2002). But these debates resulted in a constitutional framework for our government that has endured and made the United States a beacon for liberty in the world. Walter Berns wrote a recent book on patriotism, Making Patriots, in which he told of appearing at a lecture on constitutionalism in Brazil. After Berns finished speaking, someone got up to criticize the sponsor who had invited him saying, "Why did you invite an American? What can they tell us about Constitutions? They have only had one. Why didn't you invite a Bolivian? They've had a hundred?" The endurance of our Constitution with its procedural and substantive protections is a tribute to those who drafted it, and especially to the lawyers who argued at length about the structure and the protections to be included to avoid tyranny and ensure the protection of individual rights.
Early debates about the Constitution's meaning and implementation often were also led by lawyers such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Marshall. The 200th anniversary of Marbury v. Madison took place in February of this year-and serves as an additional reminder of the importance of public law, whether it be at the federal or local level. President Lincoln, when eulogizing Henry Clay, said of him that he "loved his country partly because it was his country, but mostly because it was a free country; and he burned with a zeal for its advancement, prosperity, and glory, of human liberty, human right and human nature." Lawyers continue to be involved in public law issues today for the same reason as Henry Clay-because of the opportunity it provides to make a difference as to the great issues of the day.
The legal issues that arise in this area of law are complex, ever-evolving, and affect the lives of everyone. The lawyer representing a business trying to redevelop an urban area by building a new stadium, the lawyer advising the city concerning how to fund its programs in this day of budget shortfalls, the lawyer defending the school teacher or police officer sued for violation of someone's civil rights, or the lawyer helping a citizen to bring a suit for the violation of her right to equal protection or his right to free speech, has the chance to work with the great public issues of the day. Lawyers are also involved in public law issues through political involvement. ABA President-Elect Archer, for example, served as mayor of my hometown, the City of Detroit, for eight years, during which he moved the city forward on numerous key issues. Other lawyers serve as governors, legislators, and in other public offices, using their legal skills and knowledge to formulate public policy on key issues. Lawyers in academic settings are also frequently involved in research and analysis of public law issues. Chair-Elect of the Section of State and Local Government Law Patricia E. Salkin illustrates this type of practice through her service as director of Albany Law School's Government Law Center. Similarly, David Callies, Bob Freilich, and Tom Roberts, nationally known law professors, are widely published and sought out as lecturers. They practice public law in an academic setting, providing valuable expertise to those in the trenches. Lawyers representing corporations trying to develop environmentally contaminated land or developers seeking to build new subdivisions are also involved in public law.
Lawyers recalling the early history of our nation are readily inspired by the legal and political challenges our predecessors faced in carrying out their work as lawyers or government leaders. But contrary to the spirit of cynicism that is so easy to invoke, inspiring opportunities do not rest solely in the past. Public law issues today offer new challenges to the lawyers involved on behalf of the states and local governments or those representing the private citizens or corporations impacted by them. The shape of a new city's charter, the zoning ordinances to be enacted by a township board, the design of public education programs to be funded by the state or local government, and the management of state and local government finances and debt are all topics to be debated and addressed by the lawyers involved in public law at the state and local government level. Lawyers engaged in public law, whether on behalf of a state or local government or representing a citizen or business interacting with the government, have the opportunity to shape the law as governments face new problems and search for novel solutions. Their efforts make a difference, not just to their clients' ability to achieve their goals but to the public as a whole. Public law in all its aspects will continue to develop through the crucible of the political process and through interactions, negotiations, and litigation between those in the private sector and the state and local governments with which they interact.
Lawyers turn to the Section of State and Local Government Law for cutting-edge information and creative solutions to these complex legal problems. This year, for example, the Section has appointed a task force to study the legal issues arising out of homeland security and emergency management. The task force will present a program to discuss aspects of homeland security and emergency management during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. A second program on the agenda for San Francisco will offer information about the legal issues in citizen oversight of law enforcement programs. Those in attendance will learn best practices for their own efforts to address these key issues and will obtain critical information about the legal issues involved.
The Section's educational initiatives continue at future seminars. From May 9-11, 2003, our Spring Meeting and Seminar will offer a series of programs to help lawyers facing the challenges of public law by enabling them to network with leading experts in a collegial and inclusive environment at the Don Cesar Beach Resort, St. Pete Beach, Florida. (See pages 5-6). On Friday, May 9, the Land Use Committee will hold its ever-popular hot topics luncheon with speakers from around the country providing up-to-date information on cutting-edge issues in the area of land use and zoning law. The Section's Environmental Law, Ethics, Government Operations and Liability, Public Education, and Public Finance Committees will meet at 1:00 p.m. The Task Force on Emergency Management and Homeland Security will also meet later on that afternoon.
On Saturday, May 10, three Section committees, Land Use and Zoning, Environmental, and Public Finance, have planned a program, "Farms, Forests, and Open Spaces," that will deal with legal issues arising out of nuisance odors from large farms, pesticide issues in the conversion of agricultural land to other uses, and the price tag for growth management. Participants will then attend a luncheon with keynote speaker, Kerry Kirchner, who will discuss the interaction between agribusiness, developers, and government in Southwest Florida for the past twenty years. In the afternoon, leading experts from around the country will participate in roundtables on cutting-edge legal issues in the areas of government operations and liability, and environmental law. Saturday's events will culminate in a reception at the Salvador Dali Museum where participants can informally meet, relax, and enjoy the art.
Our members value these seminars as collegial forums for enhancing their professional knowledge and skills, for networking with their public, private, and academic sector peers, and for serving the profession of the law. By helping lawyers gain command of the complexities of these public law issues, the Section helps lawyers make a difference. We hope that you will join us at upcoming meetings, become active in our committees, attend our seminar programs, read our publications, and get to know us. As Chair this year, it has been and continues to be my privilege to try to make our Section the preeminent source of reliable and relevant information on state and local government law. I hope to meet each and every one of you at some future Section event and to welcome you to active involvement in the Section. Please write or call me with your ideas for additional steps that we can take to meet your needs.