For those who are interested, here is a summary of the responses I received
to my request:
At 01:57 PM 7/28/98 -0600, David Selden wrote:
>I am looking for either a quote or philosophical statement relating to the
>importance of citizens to have (equal) access to the law that governs them.
>I need some ideas for a vision statement. I searched law review articles
on Westlaw but could not find anything relevant. Any ideas out there?
>
RESPONSES....
I thought I would share some of my favorites. Although they speak of
equality of the law and not access, I believe the expressions and sentiment
to be universal.
"Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever State or persuasion,
religious or political" Thomas Jefferson
"Equal protection of the laws is something more than an abstract right. It
is a command which the State must respect, the benefits of which every
person may demand. Not the least merit of our constitutional system is that
its safeguards extend to all, the least deserving as well as the most
virtuous" Harlan Stone, Hill v. Texas, 316 US 400, 406
"We seek not just freedom but opportunity. We seek not just legal equity,
but human ability. Not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as
a fact and equality as a result" Lyndon B. Johnson
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It certainly doesn't rise to the level of Thomas Jefferson's statements,
but our County Law Library's Mission Statement reads: "To provide
adequate and timely legal information to the judiciary, government
employees, the members of the bar and citizens of Dakota County, in the
form most comprehensible to all types of users, bearing in mind that
ready and convenient access to such information is vital to the justice
system of a democratic society." And "To utilize information technology
to deliver legal information wherever financially feasible and
acceptable to users." My Law Library Board liked it...
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Here is one that I like. It is attributed in my notes to Richard
Nixon, but I do not know when he said it:
"Fundamental to our way of life is the belief that when information
... is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon
become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage
them, and eventually incapable of determining their own destinies."
Also, the Madison quote continues:
"A popular government, without popular information or the means of
acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps
both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean
to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power
knowledge gives."
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A quote I have used in the past on this topic & which was just used by a
speaker (can't remember who) at AALL in Anaheim is from Franz Kafka's,
"Before the Law" from THREE PARABLES:
"Before the law stands a doorkeeper on guard. To this doorkeeper comes a
man from the country who begs for admittance to the law. But the
doorkeeper says that he cannot admit the man at the moment. The man, on
reflection, asks if he will be allowed, then, to enter later. "It is
possible", answers the doorkeeper, "but not at this moment."
...These are difficulties which the man from the country had not
expected to meet; the law, he thinks, should be accessible to every man
at all times...
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Take a look at the Library Bill of Rights (ALA) and AALL's Code of Ethics
(both are in the AALL Directory). Consider the discussion draft of
Ethical Principles from this year's AALL Special Committee on Ethics
(first sentence: "When individuals have ready access to legal information,
they can participate fully in the affairs of their government.") I don't
have the citations handy, but there have been articles in _Spectrum_.
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David Selden
Law Librarian
National Indian Law Library
Native American Rights Fund
1522 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-8760
(303) 443-7776 (fax)
dselden@narf.org
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