About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

38 News Bull. 1 (1978)

handle is hein.barjournals/ialaw0038 and id is 1 raw text is: THE NEWS OF THE BULLETIN Iowa State Bar Association Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1 1101 Fleming Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 JANLIARY IMS PUBLIC DISCONTENT WITH JUDICIARY Federal Judge Irving R. Kaufman has blamed poor communications for causing public discontent with the nation's legal system and said the media was largely at fault. Judges are forced for the most part to reach their audience through the medium of the press, whose reporting of judicial decisions is all too often Inaccurate or superficial, Kaufman said in the American Bar Association Journal. Kaufman, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, said the legal profession also must share the blame because we have failed to appreciate the vital importance of communication between the courts and the public. He added: Communication with the public is the very lifeblood of the 'third branch' of government, and inadequate or confusing communication between the judiciary and the populace is a principal cause of modern discontent with our legal system. Access to the forum of public opinion Is the secret strength of the judiciary, Kaufman said. He said the courts can play their appointed role effectively only if they succeed in making the legal principles they announce compre- hensible. The jurist said the court has a duty to explain its decisions in precise terms easily understood by both bench and bar. As an example of a decision misunderstood by the public, Kaufman cited the 1962 Supreme Court decision on school prayers. To a large extent, Kaufman said, the opinions were misunderstood, at least in part owing to the tendency of the mass media to communicate and the public to learn of only the barest outlines of the decisions. The judge said the court and the press did a better job of explaining the 1963 decision on Bible-reading and recitation of the Lord's Prayer. Asserting that the media have a key role in helping the public understand court deci- sions, Kaufman suggested that most reporters lack the training necessary to interpret difficult decisions. To the extent that the journalist falls to understand what the judge has said, it is difficult for the judge to perform his crucial teaching task effectively, Kaufman said. To help remedy the situation, the judge suggest',d that schools offer courses on law reporting and called on the bar to provide the major impetus for programs aimed at helping journalists do a better job of covering the courts. Kaufman also suggested that the organized bar may be the best agency to provide the press and public with an objective analysis of vital litigation. SUPREME COURT ADOPTS RULE TO ALLEVIATE TRIAL COURT CONGESTION For the information of the membership, set forth below in full is copy of Supreme Court Rule 200 adopted by the Iowa Supreme Court on December 15, 1977. This rule should help in alleviating delayed action on the trial court level and should help in the over all objective of the judicial system to improve the speedy administration of justice. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA IN THE MATTER OF SUPREME COURT RULE 200 RELATING TO JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION In the exercise of its supervisory and administrative control over all trial courts in this state and pursuant to action of this court, the following Supreme Court Rule relating to judicial administration is hereby adopted: JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION COURT RULE 200. Each district judge, district associate judge and judicial magis- trate shall report monthly to the supreme court, through the office of the court administrator of the judicial department, all matters taken under advisement in any case for longer than sixty days, together with an explanation of the reasons for the delay and an expected date of decision. If no matters have been taken under advisement over sixty days, the report shall state 'none'. Any submission shall be reported when all hearings have been completed and the matter awaits decision without further appearance of the parties or their attorney. A matter shall be deemed submitted even though briefs or transcripts have been ordered but have not yet been filed. The report shall be due on the tenth day of each calendar month for the period ending with the last day of the preceding calendar month. The first report shall be due January 10, 1978. The report shall be signed by the judge or magistrate and submitted on a form prescribed by the court administrator. The court administrator shall promptly cause all reports received to be filed in the office of the clerk of the supreme court as records available for public inspection. Done this 15th day of December, 1977. THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA By C. Edwin Moore, Chief Justice In the Supreme Court of Iowa IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE IOWA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR LAWYERS ORDER Pursuant to action of this court the following amendments to the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility are hereby adopted effective this date. I. Ethical Consideration 5-5 is amended by deleting the last sentence thereof. II. DisciplInary Rule 5-101 Is amended by insertlng the following new paragraph (B) and designating existing paragraph (B) as (C): (B) A lawyer or the lawyer's partners or associates shall not prepare an instrument in which a client desires to name the lawyer beneficially unless the lawyer is the spouse of, or is the son in law or daughter in law of, or is otherwise related by consanguinity or affinity, within the third degree, to the client. Done this 16th day of December, 1977. THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA By C. Edwin Moore, Chief Justice

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most