I was pleased to read Mr. Lee

Hunt's letter, last week, in which he suggested we have a Lawyer's Day.

Of course, I was less pleased to read he had trouble holding down his

breakfast, and for that I'd recommend he switch to more wholesome food

or see a doctor. I might add it's no more elitist to want somebody who

has studied law to decide questions whose correct resolution is found

in legal textbooks than it is to want somebody who has studied medicine

to treat his stomach problem.

The final allegation in Mr.

Hunt's letter that lawyers are "part of a system which is corrupt

at its core" is the tip-off to what is really bothering him. He castigates

judges and lawyers as part of a close system, forgetting that (1) we have

juries who make a great many important decisions in our judicial system,

(2) we have some courts where the judges need not be lawyers (magistrate

court and probate court), and (3) anybody who wants to be a lawyer can

become one after demonstrating sufficient knowledge and "character

fitness." (You don't have to practice as a lawyer afterwards. You

still have the knowledge.) As for lawmaking, we have 84 percent of our

state legislators who are not lawyers, so it's hard to believe that the

16 percent who are lawyers control everything, including natural gas deregulation.

Since we elect our state judges,

the answer to those who don't like the ones we have is simple: Vote for

someone else. Some people complain because our federal judges are appointed,

not elected; others complain because our state judges are elected, not

appointed. Any decision of these judges which is thought to be bad can

always be appealed. You don't gripe, vent or complain: you appeal. You

don't sue the judge: you appeal. (If you still lose on appeal, maybe you

weren't right to start with, and your judge was better than you thought.)

Our voting system, in this

country, is in need of reform. That's as true for state judges' elections

as for all the other elections. The lawyers aren't any more responsible

for this than anyone else. If we can promote Law Day enough, and all it

stands for, we're more likely to make progress. So I welcome anyone who

advocates Lawyers' Day: that's close enough.

Claude Y. Paquin

Fayette County

[email protected]