The Law and Lawyers: Democracy's Bulwark Page: 1 of 4
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Barbara Jordan
William 0. Douglas Award
March 28, 1989
Los Angeles, CA
The Law And Lawyers: Democracy's Bulwark
My thanks to you for this award is broad and deep. First, because of the
name it bears. William 0. Douglas--a name which is a synonym for justice and truth
and light and air and freedom and liberty and individuality and strength. A good
Justice dedicated to the essence of the Constitution. I like getting an award with his
name attached to it. Second, my thanks and appreciation is real because of you.
Public Counsel. Your work gives our profession a good name. You help to diffuse the
criticism that lawyers only care about money and not the common good.
My subject--The Law and Lawyers: Democracy's Bulwark, is intended to focus
on the value, importance and vitalizes of the law in a democracy. Democracy as a
form of government is a tough call. It is people governing themselves. No one has
improved on Abraham Lincoln's trilogy defining democracy. Government of the
people, by the people and for the people. The people...yes. "Here sir, the people
govern." Such a government is messy--untidy--not neat. The diversity and pluralism
of the United States guarantees that quarrels will breakout, factions form, and
conflicts develop. Solution and resolution is sought. The lawyer is brought in to
bring peace.
The lawyer-yes-a linchpin. The lawyer with his devotion to the rule of law--not
just to status and codes but that glue which adheres order to chaos and insists on
civilizing.
John Adams, a lawyer, and the second president of the United States is
credited with the statement, "a government of laws and not of men." The phrase is
also found in the first constitution of the state of Massachusetts, a government of
laws and not of men is actualized in the behavior of those who govern here. If that
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Jorda, Barbara C. The Law and Lawyers: Democracy's Bulwark, text, March 28, 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth611507/m1/1/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Southern University.