® January 2006 The Monthly Newspaper of the Philadelphia Bar Association Vol. 35, No. 1 Pratt Merit Selection Needed to Become for Judges, Feldman Says Chancellor by Jeff Lyons in 2008 Calling the mission “clear and urgent,” Chancellor Alan M. Feldman A. Michael Pratt, a partner at Pepper said the Association must protect the Hamilton LLP, will serve as Vice authority and the discretion vested in Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar our judges to interpret and apply the Association in 2006 after running unop- law. posed in the Tuesday, Dec. 6 election. “We must oppose the drumbeat of Pratt will serve as Chancellor-Elect in calls for so-called judicial restraint 2007 and Chancellor in 2008. and strict construction of the law, The following candidates for Bar because we know that these are sim- offices also ran unopposed and will be ply code words for the de facto nulli- serving in their positions on Jan. 1: fication of a free and autonomous Treasurer, Scott F. Cooper; Assistant judiciary,” Feldman told Association Treasurer, Jeffrey M. Lindy; Secretary, members at the Dec. 6 Annual Meet- John E. Savoth; Assistant Secretary, ing Luncheon at the Park Hyatt Kathleen D. Wilkinson; and Board of Philadelphia at the Bellevue. Governors, Judy F. Berkman, Kim R. “Remember: We are the Philadel- Jessum, Matthew Perks, Stephanie phia Bar Association, with a magnifi- Resnick and Eric G. Zajac. cent history and tradition of standing The following seven candidates were up and speaking out against those elected to three-year terms on the who would make judges subservient Young Lawyers Division Executive to the political whims of the moment. Committee: May Mon Post (241 votes), We have no greater calling than to Hope Caldwell (235), Jocelyn A. protect judicial independence, and to Gabrynowicz (230), Katherine Skubecz make sure that what happened to (224), Shawane L. Lee (217), Alexis J. Justice Nigro never happens again to Gultanoff (216) and Brian S. Chacker another judge in this Common- (215). Also receiving votes were Agatha wealth,” he said, referring to the fail- Lambris (119) and Henry Yamplosky ed retention bid of Pennsylvania Su- Photo by Jeff Lyons (103). preme Court Justice Russell M. Nig- Chancellor Alan M. Feldman outlined his plans for 2006 to Bar members at the Dec. 6 ro, who was denied a seat on the Annual Meeting Luncheon. state’s highest court amid voter back- tant step forward. The amendment “Pro bono service is a moral re- In This Issue ... lash over legislative and judicial pay would establish a broadly representa- sponsibility, as well as a professional raises. tive Commission to develop a list of obligation imposed by Rule 6.1 of the 4 In Their Own Words Feldman called on the state to eminent nominees for consideration Rules of Professional Conduct. But the 6 Year-End Events adopt merit selection of judges. and appointment by the governor,” fact is that this isn’t enough to over- “Legislation introduced earlier this he said. come real-world time and billing 13 Feasts to Famine year by State Senators Fumo and Feldman also proposed a plan that pressures, which inhibit even lawyers Williams to amend our Constitution would grant continuing legal educa- who have a genuine interest in pro- 14 Section Spotlight in order to bring merit selection of tion credit to attorneys who perform viding pro bono representation. If judges to Philadelphia is an impor- pro bono legal services. continued on page 10 16 According To... KNIPES-COHEN COURT REPORTING Celebrating 40 Years of Service to the Legal 215-928-9300 Com umunity. ROBERT COHEN, PRESIDENT COURT REPORTING • VIDEOGRAPHY • VIDEOCONFERENCING 400 Market St., 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (P) 800-544-9800 • www.knipescohen.com • (F) 215-627-0555 TRIAL LAWYERS We congratulate our friend and partner, ALAN M. FELDMAN, on serving as the 2006 Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and look forward to his continued service to the Association. Carol Nelson Shepherd Ezra Wohlgelernter Pennsylvania Mark W. Tanner 25th Floor, 1845 Walnut Street Daniel S. Weinstock Philadelphia, PA 19103 Roberta D. Pichini tel. 215.567.8300 John M. Dodig fax 215.567.8333 Eileen Riley Sutton Toll free: 1.888.275.0296 Thomas More Marrone New Jersey Daniel J. Mann Suite 112, 20 Brace Road Peter M. Newman Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 Jason A. Daria tel. 856.429.9005 Edward S. Goldis fax 856.216.1515 Carolyn Chopko PHILADELPHIA 2 JANUARY2006 / BAR REPORTER Merit Selection Will Ensure Judicial Independence by Alan M. Feldman Sometime during 2006 our nation FRONTLINE It is clear that merit selection is the only way to separate the judicial will lose the services of a great jurist and a wonderful person, Justice Sandra selection process from momentary passions and purely partisan political Day O’Connor. concerns. Justice O’Connor cuts across all political boundaries and her integrity and dedication to the cause of justice remain unquestioned. When Justice United States senator actually suggest- sions and purely partisan political con- O’Connor speaks, people listen. ed a “cause-and-effect” connection be- cerns. In a recent address in front of the tween so-called judicial activism and Judicial independence and a top- American Academy of Appellate Law- “recent episodes of courthouse violence flight judiciary go hand-in-hand. yers Justice O’Connor reflected on her way.” Turning the phrase on its ear, Jus- in this country.” True, the senator later And this is a cause that we must time on the high court and noted that tice O’Connor described the Schiavo softened his remarks. But what could embrace as lawyers, as officers of the judges don’t always make everybody case as a “flagrant display of judicial have prompted him to even suggest court and as responsible citizens. It is happy. “We have the power to make restraint.” such a connection in the first place? our cause. the president or the Congress really, I’m glad that Justice O’Connor sig- In my lifetime I have never seen our “There is no natural constituency for really angry,” she said. “In fact, if we do naled out the term “judicial restraint” judiciary under such relentless attack. judicial independence,” Justice not make them mad some of the time, because it and terms such as “strict If you doubt that the threat to judi- O’Connor said, “except for a vibrant, we probably aren’t doing our jobs. Our construction of the law” are used as cial independence is real you need responsible lawyer class. We can’t trust effectiveness,” she added, “therefore code words for the de facto nullifica- only look to our recent experience in the courts to protect themselves.” relies on the knowledge that we won’t tion of a free and autonomous judicia- Pennsylvania where an honest, decent be subject to retaliation for our acts.” ry. Sadly, our judiciary is under attack and qualified justice of the state Sup- Alan M. Feldman, a partner at Feldman, Shepherd, That’s an important statement - by those who want results-oriented Wohlgelernter, Tanner and Weinstock, is Chancellor of reme Court was voted out of office by the Philadelphia Bar Association. His e-mail address is expressing a powerful condition to the justice that produces decisions that an angry electorate for reasons that [email protected]. “effectiveness” referenced by Justice strictly adhere to their own political had absolutely nothing to do with his O’Connor. views. performance as a judge. I truly believe But now even Justice O’Connor And for evidence of that we need we must make sure that what happen- must admit that we can no longer sim- not rely solely on Justice O’Connor. ed to Justice Russell Nigro never hap- ply assume that judges “won’t be sub- No less an authority than the Am- pens again to another judge here. ject to retaliation for their acts.” erican Judicature Society has rightly This year we will act on two fronts: Indeed, Justice O’Connor herself Editor-in-Chief pointed out that recent attacks on an Where appropriate, we will promptly, went on to describe recent threats to Molly Peckman, Esq. independent judiciary have not only vigorously and steadfastly defend judicial independence including mat- included voting state court judges out judges against unfair attacks and we Associate Editors ters related to last year’s emotional Ter- of office, and the threatened impeach- will also redouble our efforts to amend Sunah Park, Esq. ri Schiavo case in which we learned ment of federal judges who make un- the state constitution so that Philadel- Lawrence S. Felzer, Esq. that even the historic jurisdiction of Heather J. Holloway, Esq. popular rulings, but also the denial of phia will be able to switch to a merit state courts over family disputes could necessary adjustments to judicial com- Stacey Z. Jumper, Esq. based non-elective system for choosing Asima Panigrahi, Esq. be casually sacrificed by zealots - zeal- pensation, and punitive cuts in the judges. It is clear that merit selection is ots with significant political power and budgets of both federal and state the only way to separate the judicial Contributing Editor influence - whose notion of judicial in- courts. selection process from momentary pas- Richard Max Bockol, Esq. dependence was “my way or the high- It’s gotten so bad that last spring a Advisory Editors Bruce H. Bikin, Esq. Merih O. Erhan, Esq. Chancellor’s Forum on ‘Intelligent Design’ Jan. 24 Marc W. Reuben, Esq. Attorneys representing families developed through natural processes. ty of teaching intelligent design as sci- Director of New Media and Publications looking to overturn the Dover School In a six-week trial this fall in U.S.