Topic 138: My Taskmaster -- Duty

Carol:

Did You Hear The Joke About the Lawyer Who…

Duty is kind of an old-fashioned word. In our house, the word mostly revolves around The Law. I use capital letters here because my children and I have had ample opportunity to observe the legal system from all angles.  That exposure came from living with a husband and a father who has been an attorney for 37 years.
 

Most attorneys don’t make as much money as the high-profile celebrity lawyers whose cases hit the newspapers. Most attorneys don’t take the ethical short-cuts that are portrayed on weeknight crime shows.  And, most attorneys don’t have exciting cases worthy of a John Grisham novel. Most attorneys do put in long hours, generate loads of  paperwork, listen to complaints and anguish, and attend a lot of training seminars. They also accept other professional duties of which most people are quite unaware.
 

“Officer of the Court” is one part of the job. On several occasions I have been with my husband when he spotted someone on the highway or local roads who appeared impaired or just reckless. He called the Sheriff’s Department, identified himself and reported the location and description of the vehicle. Some people might say, “It’s none of my business,” or, they might make an anonymous phone call so as to avoid the hassle of being called as a witness.  I have also overheard phone conversations where my husband said, “No, I can’t do that. That would be lying, and I’m an Officer of the Court.”

“Civic Educator” is another part of the job. Attorneys visit schools to talk about the legal system, represent their profession at career days, or answer questions in civics and government classes about rights and responsibilities. They also provide guidance and assistance in student mock trials or Teen Court diversion programs. State bar associations promote community education resources through Speakers Bureaus that connect organizations with volunteer lawyers, the Arizona State Bar listing over 20 topics. Attorneys act as representatives of a legal system that works best when the public is educated—and educated early—about the democratic principles and legislative underpinnings of the legal process.
 

“Public Servant” is also in the job description, even for private attorneys. Sometimes this means adjusting fees or working “pro bono” for clients who can’t afford the usual cost of “justice for all.” Sometimes it means fielding questions to legal hotlines such as Arizona’s “Lawyers on Call” program, or sitting tables at Veterans Services events. Or it can mean participating in Law Day, a May 1 event that was proclaimed by President Eisenhower in 1958 to promote public awareness of not just the effect of the American legal system on our lives but how it operates. Last year the Yavapai County Bar Association and Community Legal Services honored  the occasion by providing a free, day-long legal clinic at the Prescott Public Library.
 

Our legal system operates around the hard work of every “Officer of the Court,” whether a lawyer, judge, court clerk, or legal assistant. It is a task-master not only to those who make their living in legal professions but also to the people this system serves. As American citizens-- whatever our political affiliation, income bracket, or educational background--we have duties as well. Democracy is a participatory system.
 

One of these civic responsibilities is jury duty. I finally got called for jury duty about three years ago and made arrangements for a substitute teacher. I didn’t have a high expectation that I would actually be seated on a jury. After all, Prescott is still a fairly small town and my husband has been a defense attorney here for 25 years. Although the case eventually settled, I was chosen for the jury. I knew the judge, I knew the prosecutor, and I knew the defense attorney. There wasn’t a shark in the bunch.

Sources:
American Bar Association. Division for Public Education.  

State Bar of Arizona homepage.

Megan:

A Duty of Care

In the prison, all members of staff have what is called a “duty of care” towards the prisoners. It’s sort of a vague expression, but it basically covered the need to treat them humanely – to provide food and water and an hour’s exercise, access to showers and healthcare and information (via the Education department and Library).  It also extended to breaking up fights, identifying those at risk of self-harm and suicide, and isolating troublemakers and bullies.

My responsibility was to provide a library service comparable to the one used by the public, which included not just reading materials, but audio/visual resources, IT access and information on everything from prison rules to career training. UK prisoners are lucky that the government deemed quality library services managed by actual librarians a legal requirement, especially since there is currently some question about whether they have the same obligation (duty of care) to the public.

One of the first things I did after I started working in the prison was try to identify and eliminate any obstacles prisoners had in gaining access to the library. Some were fairly easy to fix – such as rearranging the schedule to make sure that the library times didn’t clash with the gym or their time on the yard. Occasionally it was pointed out to me that in real life, people have to make choices about how to spend their time, which is certainly true. But in real life, most people have access to a public library more than one hour a week. In prison , when almost every minute of unlocked time is designated for a certain purpose, there is really only ever one choice – to participate in the activity or not.  And that was the only choice I wanted them to have to make about the library.

This proved more difficult for prisoners who were not held on the main wings.  Separate library service was already provided to prisoners in segregation (solitary confinement), but prisoners  who were long term patients in the health care centre did not have the chance to attend the main library. Cambridgeshire Library Services had a system in place for visiting the smaller villages and providing for the housebound and disabled – called the Doorstep service.  When I was first hired, I went with the program facilitator to deliver books to a housebound couple in one of the southern villages. The facilitator had a file on each person, with their likes and interests and selected about 12 (large print) books to deliver personally to their homes. I remember being greeted by a couple in their 90’s, who were so excited to see us. The wife made us tea, while the husband showed me a letter they had received from the queen on their 70th anniversary. They were absolutely delighted with the service, especially because there was no way either of them could get to the public library in the next town.

In the prison, because it was my duty to provide a comparable service, I arranged a small mobile library service for the health care centre, including weekly visits by library staff to take requests and reference inquiries. There were never more than a couple guys in there at a time, but often they were injured or unable to leave their bed and they certainly appreciated the visits.

That’s the part I miss about working -- interacting with people who depend on the service, people who appreciated that public libraries provide more than just books, but also a companionable social element that improves their quality of life.