2006 ACS National Convention Panel Discusses "How to Talk About the Law"
On June 17, ACS hosted a panel at the 2006 National Convention addressing how lawyers can communicate with the public about legal issues in a convincing, straightforward way. As moderator Andrew Pincus emphasized, this panel differed from much of the Convention's programing in that it focused not on "in depth legal discussion of fine points," but instead asked "how to talk about legal issues . . . around the Thanksgiving table." Streaming video of the discussion is now available in the ACS multimedia archive.
As panelist Ricki Seidman noted, an important part of talking to the general public about the law involves doing so in a way that emphasizes how the law "effects people's lives." She emphasized the importance of discussing "values" instead of legal "principles," and noted the failure of Judge Carolyn Kuhl to gain Senate confirmation of her nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Panelist Laura Esquivel noted that some observers believe that opposition to Kuhl stemmed not from outrage over her theory of constitutional interpretation, but instead because "the public was so utterly offended with her conclusion that having a drug company salesman observe [a woman's] gynecological exam was not a violation of her privacy."
Seidman compared the fate of Kuhl's nomination with that of Justice Samuel Alito. As Seidman explains, proponents of Justice Alito sucessfully advanced his nomination by "convincing people that Justice Alito was a good person," instead of focusing on the "kind of decisions he would make as a judge."
Panelists included:
- Laura Esquivel, Director of Issues Marketing and Research, People for the American Way
- Judge Abner Mikva, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; former White House Counsel; former Member of Congress (D-IL)
- Andrew Pincus, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP; former Assistant to the Solicitor General
- Ricki Seidman, TSD Communications; former Deputy Associate Attorney General
- Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry