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CONTACT PERSON:
VALERIE WILLARD
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
(504) 599-0319
| APRIL
15, 2003 |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
2003
STATE OF THE JUDICIARY ADDRESS
TO THE JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE
OF THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE
by PASCAL F. CALOGERO, JR.
CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
Tuesday, April 15, 2003, 1:30 p.m., House Chamber
Mr. President,
Mr. Speaker, members of the House and Senate, colleagues,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Good afternoon. On
behalf of the Louisiana Supreme Court, thank you for this
opportunity to speak to you on the state of the judiciary.
It is an honor to appear before you once again. I sincerely
appreciate the courtesies shown by the President, the Speaker,
and all of you for scheduling this address and for being here
today.
I am joined today by
other members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Kitty
Kimball, who is next in line to serve as Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court. Other members of the Court present today
are Justice Jeffrey P. Victory from Shreveport, Justice Jeannette
Theriot Knoll from Marksville, and our newest Justice, John
L. Weimer, from Thibodaux. Unfortunately, Justice Bernette
Johnson from New Orleans and Justice Chet Traylor from Winnsboro
were unable to attend.
This is my fifth "State
of the Judiciary" address. I look forward to speaking to you
every two years. My regularly-scheduled remarks represent
a relatively new tradition, although prior to 1996, Chief
Justices occasionally addressed this esteemed body. I believe
our presence here serves a dual purpose of updating you on
the performance of the state judiciary while serving as a
reminder of the functions and nature of our respective branches
of government.
My own experience and
that of the other Justices is an appreciation and deep respect
of your role in our state government. This bicameral legislature
is inferior only to the Constitution of Louisiana as adopted
by the people of our state. As legislators, you pass the laws
for our state. Under the state Constitution, we are required
to respect, interpret, and apply those laws, and on occasion,
to determine whether a law that you pass comports with our
state and federal constitutions.
Last week I marked
my 13th year as your Chief Justice, and I thank each of you
for your courtesy and your friendship over the years, and
for the respect you accord the Supreme Court and its Justices.
I also would like to thank all of you and Governor Mike Foster
for your assistance and cooperation.
I especially commend
you for providing the funds to complete the renovation of
400 Royal Street to house the Supreme Court and the Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeal. I promise that this precious landmark
will become one of the great jewels in this state's rich treasury
of historic buildings, and a fitting symbol for justice in
Louisiana.
Since I last spoke
to you, we bade a fond farewell to Justice Harry T. Lemmon
of Luling who retired in May 2001 after 21 years of distinguished
service on the Court. John L. Weimer was elected in the fall
of 2001 to succeed Justice Lemmon and to complete his unfinished
term. In the fall of 2002, Justice Weimer was re-elected from
the Sixth Supreme Court District to a full ten year term.
We were also saddened by the loss of retired Supreme Court
Chief Justice John A. Dixon, Jr. of Shreveport who died just
last month.
Much has occurred both
in the world and in the state judiciary since I last appeared
before this body. We all experienced the horror and the aftermath
of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The historic
courthouse in Pointe-a-la-Hache was destroyed in a tragic
fire. Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili disrupted
court dockets and courthouses throughout the state. Every
district judgeship was up for election in the fall of 2002,
and we welcomed many fresh faces to the bench. The Supreme
Court traveled from one end of the state - Nicholls State
University in Thibodaux - to the other end, University of
Louisiana at Monroe - for oral arguments, and several Canadian
judges from Quebec traveled to New Orleans to participate
in our annual Fall Judges Conference last year. In response
to your request that funding for state drug courts be channeled
through the Supreme Court, we created a Supreme Court Drug
Court office which is responsible for the disbursement of
state funds to district courts that are operating drug courts
with the goal of sustaining and improving the operation of
the drug court. I am pleased to report that this effort is
proving quite successful.
In 2001, the Court
also completed its work on the issue of permanent disbarment
of attorneys. Months of study and deliberation culminated
in the issuance of an Order codifying the Court's ability
to disbar an attorney permanently in the most egregious cases
and to ban him or her from applying for readmission. Another
long-standing and much debated issue which came to fruition
since we last met was the adoption of uniform Court Rules
for the district courts throughout the state with appendices
which respect some necessary local situations. These Court
Rules for civil and criminal proceedings have been in effect
since April 1, 2002. And in a continued effort to be accessible
and "user friendly" to attorneys and the public, the Supreme
Court launched a redesigned website which can be found at
www.lasc.org and I invite you to visit our site.
The fall 2002 judgeship
elections saw the newly created Judicial Campaign Oversight
Committee in action throughout the state. In response to a
request by the Oversight Committee, 216 incumbent judges and
judicial candidates signed a Campaign Conduct Acknowledgment
form, in which they acknowledged that they had read, understood
and were bound by the judicial campaign ethical provisions
of the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct. The Oversight Committee
also conducted six comprehensive and lengthy educational presentations
statewide which focused on the restrictions on judicial campaign
activities enumerated in the Code of Judicial Conduct.
During the fall judicial
elections, the Oversight Committee received 32 complaints
concerning judicial campaign conduct, and issued one public
statement. The 15 member Oversight Committee, chaired by New
Orleans attorney Harry Hardin, worked tirelessly and did an
exceptional job. In my view, the general tenor of this year's
judicial campaigns was much improved over past campaigns,
and I look forward to the continuing involvement of the Oversight
Committee in future judicial campaigns.
The Supreme Court has
also continued to comply with the Judicial Budget and Performance
Accountability Act of 1999. We have completed Strategic Plans
at all court levels, and each year we submit an Operational
Plan to you. Also, each year, we issue a State of Judicial
Performance report, which is entitled "Justice at Work". And
since passage of the Act, we have conducted four successive
annual Performance Audits, including review of state courts'
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; review
of state courts' compliance with the Adoption and Safe Families
Act; review of our Attorney Disciplinary system; and the most
recent audit, a review of the Court's Judicial College.
Despite these examples
of progress in the state judiciary, we have also seen some
missteps. Some say our state judiciary, much like our society
in general, has recently witnessed untoward events. Over the
last two years, five members of the judiciary have been suspended
from their offices, two on an interim basis. One judge was
removed from office, while another recently pleaded guilty
to criminal charges. The number of judicial discipline cases
has the Judiciary Commission working overtime. Some commentators
and pundits will, no doubt, make much of these facts to argue
that our system is broken and needs to be fixed. My view is
just the reverse. I believe that the increased number of prosecutions
in the judicial discipline system, as well as the bar discipline
system, demonstrate that both systems are working quite well.
These systems are staffed with highly competent administrators
and highly dedicated judge, attorney and lay volunteers who
have more than proven to be up to the challenges presented
recently.
About a decade ago,
we first started using the terms "professionalism" and "civility",
and there seemed to be an outcry that the legal profession
was no longer either civilized or professional. The litany
was that the legal profession, once held in such high esteem,
had fallen below the rank, in reputation, of a used car salesman.
However, over the past ten years, because of the work of both
the bench and bar, I have seen a dramatic increase in attention
and dedication to the improvement of our legal profession
from within. This commitment has been directly proportionate
to the growing increase in numbers in our ranks. Today we
have approximately 20,000 attorneys in Louisiana, which is
up from 18,000 only a few years ago. The legal profession,
in spite of the jokes and aspersions cast upon it, continues
to be an attractive profession. Surely college students and
others considering law school are well aware of the significant
proliferation of lawyers. But perhaps they believe the truism
that "there are never enough good lawyers."
And so they enter this
profession today from all walks of life -- rich, poor, young,
old, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, etc. The legal profession
is no longer a reflection of the privileged and educated upperclass.
Rather, it has become reflective of the society that we live
in. As the ranks of the legal profession have become more
open and diverse, so too have the ranks of the judiciary.
Take our Supreme Court. We are a Court of seven members, four
male justices, three female justices, one African-American,
Democrats and Republicans (although I will refrain from noting
how many of each), with an age spread spanning almost 1/4
of a century from myself as the oldest to our newest elected
Justice, John Weimer, who, at 48, is the youngest. I am encouraged
by this growing diversity in the state judiciary, and I believe
this diversity is good for the system and for the public in
general.
Turning now to another
matter, I would like to thank you, the Legislature,
and the Governor for accepting my request two years ago for
"all three branches to examine the issue of the current state
of our juvenile justice system and to take bold steps to improve
it." Your immediate action and commitment to this endeavor
was impressive and of great credit to this body, and in a
recent resolution adopted by the Supreme Court, we officially
and unanimously acknowledged and commended the Louisiana Legislature
for creation of the Joint Legislative Juvenile Justice Commission
and its Advisory Board.
I want to thank the
12-member legislative Commission who served with such diligence
and dedication: Rep. Mitchell J. Landrieu, Chair; Senator
Donald R. Cravins, Vice - Chair; Senators Diana E. Bajoie,
Charles D. Jones, Arthur J. Lentini, Willie Landry Mount,
and Michael J. Michot; and Representatives Willie Hunter,
Jr., Billy Montgomery, Charles A. Riddle, III, Daniel R. Martiny,
and not the least, especially in enthusiasm for this project,
Diane G. Winston. I would also like to thank the Advisory
Board, the Planning Team, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation
for developing and recommending what is, in my opinion, a
comprehensive and sound approach to the reform that I and
many others had hoped for.
I would also like to
recognize and thank Justice Kitty Kimball who traveled with
a delegation from Louisiana to review the Missouri correctional
system and who has dedicated much time and energy in promoting
the improvement of our juvenile justice system.
I also want to thank
the following organizations for their advice and support throughout
the project: the National Conference of State Legislators;
the American Bar Association; the Juvenile Corrections Program
of the LSU Health Sciences Center; the LSU Office of Social
Service Research and Development; the universities comprising
the Research Team; the National Center for Juvenile Justice;
and the Child Welfare League of America. I would also like,
globally, to thank the groups, too numerous to mention, who
have already endorsed the recommendations of the Juvenile
Justice Commission.
Finally, I want to
thank the hundreds of other organizations and individuals
who participated in the public hearings, completed the survey
forms, or contributed materials to the Commission. I know
that this information has been extremely helpful.
On the basis of the
excellent work of the Commission and all those participating
in the Commission's process, you now have before you an Omnibus
Juvenile Justice Reform Bill, an Omnibus Juvenile Justice
Reform Resolution, and other affiliated legislation. I am
informed by the Commission's chair and by others that a remarkable
consensus has been reached on the need for reform and on the
general vision, goals, and strategies proposed by the Commission
in this legislation. Whatever disagreements remain, I am told,
are primarily over means and not ends and over the timing
of implementation. Let us hope that this analysis is true.
I wish to speak to
you today on this issue, not as a spokesperson for the Supreme
Court, not even as a Justice, but as a concerned citizen and
parent who has been deeply involved in the judicial and legal
process for many years - a concerned citizen and parent who
is horrified by gang shootings and murders in our schools,
and who sees reform of our juvenile justice system as perhaps
preventing such future violence by ensuring that juveniles
in the system do not just bide their time there waiting for
their release and learning how to become hardened criminals.
It is now decision
time in Louisiana. And the whole nation is watching to see
whether we will truly deliver comprehensive juvenile justice
reform.
There are those who
may recommend that you enact only cosmetic changes this session
and not tackle the full scope of reform. There are those who
may ask you to postpone consideration of the entire package
until the next session. And there are those who may recommend
delays in the implementation of the reform until further studies
or pilot programs are completed. But I am here to urge you
to support the reform bills and resolution this session essentially
as presented.
The success of the
entire reform effort rests upon the adoption of two key recommendations.
These key recommendations, in my opinion, are first, the establishment
of a Department of Children, Youth and Families, which will
ensure greater coordination, communication and collaboration
among those who deal with the needs of children, youth and
families. A single Department will facilitate a more effective
system of delivering services to our juveniles through a single
point of entry and decentralization of service delivery through
community-based, school-based and regionally based organizations.
A single Department will also save money by eliminating redundancies.
Such savings can be reinvested into local and regional treatment
programs. Further, a single Department can concentrate on
developing a more appropriate culture and system for implementing
all reforms relating to youth corrections.
The second recommendation
of the reform effort is to begin the process of developing
a balanced juvenile correctional system as quickly as possible.
A balanced system will place more money into initiatives at
the front end, such as prevention and early intervention,
rather than back-end services such as secure detention. It
will also place considerable resources into sanctions for
juvenile delinquency that are more effective and less expensive
than incarceration. Finally, a balanced juvenile correctional
system will use smaller secure detention facilities located
in local areas for local youth with a continuum of services
for rehabilitating offenders.
We need to reduce
juvenile incarceration rapidly, providing for those offenders
who can be moved to more effective and less expensive alternatives,
and reinvesting the savings into prevention, early intervention,
and other alternative sanctions, as an abundance of national
research recommends, until we have achieved the right balance
of services and sanctions.
Failure to enact these
two critical recommendations - establishment of a single Department
of Children, Youth, and Families and development of a balanced
juvenile correctional system - will, in my opinion, significantly
reduce the effectiveness of all other of the Commission's
recommendations and will constitute a failure to achieve reform
in this session.
Some may say that more
time is needed to study these issues. But the Commission has
already spent two years doing just that. It has conducted
21 public hearings in which more than 2,000 people participated.
It has surveyed more than 500 people on the principles of
the comprehensive strategy. It has also received advice and
information from some of the best national think tanks in
the nation as well as from local university researchers. And,
from what I have read and understand, the Commission has built
into its recommendations more than enough time for planning
and studying these issues during the process of implementing
them.
Others may say that
these reforms are too comprehensive to address during an election
year and that we should wait to consider these issues at the
next session with a new governor. But what better time is
there to debate and decide this issue? We have momentum, consensus,
media and popular support, and national attention. Furthermore,
the people of Louisiana have waited long enough. The reform
will take years to achieve. But let us not delay its beginning.
The time to begin is right now and the place to begin is right
here.
The purpose of a judicial
system is justice. I have been part of the judicial system
as a justice for 30 years and I can say with conviction that
we are not doing justice by our children, or for our society
at large, because the juvenile justice system is terribly
flawed. It must be changed. It should be changed now.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, let me again say what an honor and
privilege it is to be before you today. I would be remiss
if I did not mention the employees of all of our state courts,
their relatives, and the employees, relatives and friends
of you, the members of the Legislature, who are at this moment
fighting in a distant land to promote, protect and preserve
the freedoms and democracy that we enjoy, and which give us
the opportunity to be here today, participating so actively
in our state government. On behalf of the state judiciary,
thank you to our soldiers, especially our Louisiana sons and
daughters. May all of you return safely home soon. And thank
you, the dedicated members of our state Legislature, for opening
your chamber to us today, for your attention to my remarks,
and for your unfailing devotion to the people of Louisiana.
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