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14 Oyez Oyez Bull. Sec. Jud. Admin. 1 (1971)

handle is hein.journals/oyzoyz14 and id is 1 raw text is: The Bulletin of the Section of Judicial Administration oy(ez! oyez!l VOL. 14, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 1971 The Chairman's Column in this issue contains a special message and a request to all members of the Section. CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN To the Members of the Section of Judicial Administration: I sometimes wonder how many members of the Section read The Chairman's Column. More than a few, I hope, though I hardly can fault anyone who fails on occasion to do so in view of the flood of publications with which judges, practicing attorneys and law teachers must cope. Insofar as the Section and the three judges' Con- ferences are concerned, however, communications is and always has been a problem. There are more than seven thousand members in the Section of Judicial Administra- tion, but only a relative few can be actively involved at any one time, William B. West III serving as officers, members of the Council or Conference Executive Committees, or on various working committees. This column, therefore, is about the only means we have of letting everyone know what is going on. Unfortunately, it is one way communications only, because it does not tell me what you have on your mind. Since so much activity goes on behind the scenes and therefore is not visible on the surface, one easily might conclude that the programs conducted at the Annual Meeting each summer constitute our principal, if not our only, objective. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. This is especially so this year, however, since we have been in a period of transition. There has been a complete turnover in the Section's Chicago staff, coinciding unfortunately with the annuat election of new chairmen for the Section and the Conferences, so that we all have had to start more or less from scratch. Perhaps, in a way, this has been fortunate because it has prompted us to sit down and take a good hard look at ourselves and the job we have been doing - what are our basic objectives and priorities; how can we do a better job; can we develop a closer relationship with state bar associations and other organizations working to improve the administration of justice; is it possible to involve more of our membership in the activities of the Section and the Conferences; can practicing attorneys and law teachers play a more active role in our work than they have in the past; and what are the financial imperatives and staff requirements necessary to do the job that must be done, etc.? I could go on at length, but the point is that we can and must assume a more activist role and become a more effective force for the improvement of the administration of justice. And the time is now. Public confidence in our judicial system has been seriously eroded in recent years, and there are those who would destroy the system rather than work to improve it. There are things which must be changed. Some of the criticism of the courts obviously is unfounded, but there is much which hits the mark, and as judges and lawyers we should recognize that we have a special responsibility, not only to listen to the critics, but to work for constructive changes in our system of justice. This is not to minimize what has been and is being done, both within and without the American Bar Association, to improve judicial administration. All I am trying to say is that we can and must do more, and do it now. The Chief Justice of the United States and others have spoken forcefully of the need to eliminate delays, improve the efficiency of our judicial system and restore public confi- dence in the courts. But how can we convert rhetoric into reality? What can we do to implement these objectives? As you know, if you have read previous issues of OYEZ! OYEZ!, we have been seeking ways and means to make the Section and the Conferences more viable and more effec- tive, but we certainly have no monopoly when it comes to fresh and creative ideas for accomplishing these goals. I would like to hear from you, and that is the whole point of this rather unorthodox Chairman's Column. If you have any suggestions (and I hope that you will), please sit down now and write a letter to me, at the Chicago address of the Section. We will read and study all of your letters and from this, I trust, may come some fresh approaches to some old problems. We will welcome your help as we seek to find better ways to work effectively for the improvement of the administration of justice.

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