I'm a reader, but I'm also a journalist, and I have the feeling you're going to be setting judicial precedent for our profession.
Countrywide and two law firms it used showed "a disregard for the professional and ethical obligations of the legal profession and judicial system," Judge Jeff Bohm of Federal District Court said in ruling on a request by a Justice Department official to consider punishing the company for its conduct.
But everybody knows he needs a liberal to stop the court from moving further to the right than it already has under John Roberts, the present chief justice, a man more stealth-bomber than aircraft-carrier, whose professions of judicial modesty during his own confirmation hearings in 2005 gave little inkling of the controversial decisions over which he has since presided.
Chief justices, heads of jurisdiction, attorneys general, chief prosecutors, and other high-ranking representatives of the judicial, legal and auditing professions have been present in Rio over the last few days with the object of feeding their own recommendations into the work of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development now taking place at heads of state and heads of government level.
Fines for those caught are minimal, typically 1,500 euros ($2,043); prison sentences are rare, and those convicted normally re-enter the profession, because the judicial arsenal remains limited and has not responded to the increase in crime.
That said, the judicial pinnacle of the UK legal profession, the supreme court, is dominated by men, with 11 men and one woman, Lady Hale.
I will be even more embarrassed for my profession and for the judicial system if this case is not summarily dismissed and the lawyer who filed it is not severely sanctioned for wasting the resources of an already strained system.
In his comedy routine, Mr. Britcher added, Mr. Sicari refrained from jokes about the legal profession and never divulged his judicial job.
Access to justice operating under a thick rule of law may be achieved by, among other things, increasing the efficiency of the judicial process, and having a robust legal profession, an incorruptible and independent judiciary, and a set of supporting institutions in order to increase the quality of justice administered.
"The government has been consulting with the legal profession on a range of upcoming judicial appointments and numerous candidates are being considered," he said.
