News Scrapbook 1989

Torrance CA (Los Ang' les Co.) D 1ly Breele (Cir. D. 131 194) (Cir. S. 124,7501

JI.II.,.'• "· C I

~ fl 1818 / Catholic laity said dragging feet on abortion ' Y rt D Veroll '7 .)-. chools, attacks on Catholic leaders, pornography Stravinskas began his lecture by saying there is Father Drinan is a Catholic hall of infamy," he RVIC and other issues. only one Catholic position on abortion, that of said_

O'Neill and the Rev. Robert Drinan are former Massachusetts members of the House of Repre- sentatives. Kennedy is a Massachusetts senator, former New York congresswoman and 1984 Dem- ocratic vice presidential candidate. Moynihan is d c · f N Y k F · an uomo 1s governor o ew or . erraro 1s a

the Roman Catholic Church. That teaching says that all direct abortions are immoral. Spontane- ous abortions or those resulting from injury or illness are not considered immoral. Stravinskas urged Catholics to intensify their efforts to educate the public on abortion, to vote for anti-abortion candidates for public office and to pray for the resolution of an issue he called "a source of division" in American society. "If one i a Catholic and a public official, he or she will refuse to support permissive abortion do away With such law ," Stravinskas said. "Names like Tip O'Neill, Ted Kennedy, Mario Cuomo, Geraldine Ferraro, Pat Moynihan and

In general, the American Catholic laity has

tanding up for Catholic

been "ineffective" in

principles and interests, Stravinskas added. He said the nation's Catholic bishops originally led the opposition to abortion and still are in- y volv d, if omewhat unevenly, in the anti-abor- tion movement much more effectively than Cath- travinskaa' lecture at the University of San cheduled as a respo ~o an appear- as month by Sarah Weddington, the Texas ttorn y who uccessfully argued Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 upreme Court ruling that struck down tat abortion laws. Weddington also spoke Diego wa mo t olic Jay people.

La Jolla, CA (San Diego Co.)

av rage Catholic

senator from New York.

•.• about abortion,"

La Jolla light (Cir. W. 9,33G) APR 1 ...Alto,', "· c. a En. 1888 _, ?' /. April 13 _ The W James will celeb rate the Easter the speaker will ~o~n luncheon. an adjunct memb e usan Haber, at Miramar C II er of the faculty the history dep~r?e anq !.!SD in will be "F ment. Her topic Fa i t h rom Skepticism to Journey.';·· A Doubter's For reser · The Ju h va11_ons, call 272-9647 nc eon 1s $5 C · tary child care is . o_mplimen- reservations to NProv1ded with 22 - orman .Root . '1-'i'> • / .., omen of St. season with a

All are Catholics who have said they are .per-

ed to b rt'

t

b t th t th

all

ey Jll},111

a

u

a o 10n,

son Y oppos

respect the nation's laws on abortion.

"The irony is that if you want a public official

laws and will do everything in his or her power to who is opposed to abortion, your chances are far

better if you vote for a Mormon or a Baptist.th.an a Roman Catholic," Stravinskas said. "Sad, but /

.

/

true."

t USD in 1987.

Watsonville, CA (Sanla Cruz Co.) Register-Pajaronian (Cir. 6xW_ 13,937}

APR 14 1989

Lo~ Anq ·I •~. CA (LosAm1 •I• Col Los Anq I •s D,11ly Journ ,11 (Ci! 6 x W 2 1,28 7 1 R 1119 ,JH/r,,•• P c e , .,

Jlllrn

P c. B

/ ,,. 1888

Mor, 11 _~t~ention fo used on mBney-vote questions

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---LE TTE S fr om our RE-A.--,--D_E_R-,--,S____ g Bar Discipline Is Hardly 'Wimping Out'

By WILLIAM ENDICOTT McCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE

Improvi I

SACRAMENTO - It is as rare as a warm night at Candlestick Park to find a legislator willing to admit to any relationship be- tween money and votes in the Capitol. That makes Senate Ma- jority Leader Barry Keene of Benicia a rare bird indeed. D mocrat Keene is quoted in the latest is ue of State Gove- rnment News, pub ished by the Council of State Governments, as saying that there is no question that lobbyists use campaign con- tributions and gifts to in0uence votes. "Subconsciously it can affect how you vote, and the people that spend the money know it," he says. Anybody who has ever dealt with the California Legislature knows that there is a never- ending quest fot money by many lawmakers, and that the system has grown even more odious with the blatant grab for honorariums. Common Cause, among others, has complained for years that gifts and honorariums - even more than campaign contribu- tions - amount to little more than legalized graft. Now comes Keene with his unusually candid assessment, the latest in a series of signs that legislative leaders finally may be •coming to grips with the idea that their institution is in drastic need of a major overhaul. The Assembly has a special ethics refo~m panel in place; Senate President Pro Tern David Roberti, D-Los Angeles, called last week for more legislative .:1ccountability; conflict-of-interest ,bills are in the hopper; and one ssembly committee ruled last

1 fail to see any merit m Hirschberg's complaint that the public outcry has re• suited in an onslaught of disciplinary fil. ings in "Mickey Mouse" matters. In fact, most of the disciplinary actions filed by the State Bar involve embezzlement or other misuse of client's funds, forgery of client's settlement checks, failure to per· fonn work, abandonment of the client and conflicts of interest. Unfortunately, however, the State Bar has elected to prosecute only those cases that will likely result in disbarment. As a result, it has improvidently dismissed any consumer complaints involving egregious attorney misconduct that may have re- sulted in discipline less than disbarment. Finally, Hirschberg laments that the State Bar had the best diSCJplinary system of all of the licensed professions. That is simply not true. On Dec_ 16, 1985, the legislative analyst, William G. Hamm, concluded in a report to Sen. Robert Presley, D-Riverside, that the disciplin· ary processes used by the Board of Medi- cal Quality Assurance, Board of Pharmacy, Board of Dental Examiners and Board of Registered Nursing "are more efficient than the process used by the State Bar." Hirschberg is correct in stating that the function of discipline is the protection of the public. To date, however, the disci- plinary system has failed to protect the public. I hope that the State Bar will adopt and implement the monitor's recommen- dations. For if drastic improvements are not made in the manner in which consum- er complaints are handled by the State Bar, then Hirschberg's prediction may very well come true: that the State Bar, as we now know it, is bound to die. RICHARD LUBETZKY Chairman, Board of Directors Caljustice Ca/justice is a statewuk legal reform grQUp whose goals are to improve the law- yer discipline process and increase consum- er access to the cQUrls. ,. /

tions taken by the Legjslature will not only help to ensure better protection for California consumers, but will help to re- tore practitioner pride in the profession as well. We would also like to commend the State Bar Discipline Monitot, Robert€. ~ Fellmeth for hi tireless efforts on behalf orCalifornia consumers to improve the State Bar's d1sc1pline system. There can no longer be any disagreement among re- sponsible leaders of the profession that the disciplinary system is in major need of reform, and that the improvements advo- cated by the monitor in his reports have been thoughtful, constructive and instru- mental in bringing about many of these re- forms. Indeed, the public outcry that necessitated the Legislature's implemen- tation of these reforms, which are decried by Hirschberg, belie his contention that the disciplinary system 1s "not as bad as pamted." Likewise, had the profession acted ear- ly on to properly discipline those unethical attorneys who have demeaned the profes- sion, the action taken by the Legislature may not have been necessary. In short, despite Hirschberg's thesis to the contrtry, it is not the proposed re- forms that have demeaned the profession, but rather the fact that the State Bar has allowed such a disgraceful condition to exist. The monitor's recommendation to re- place the use of volunteer attorneys on the State Bar court with professional ad- ministrative law judges should be praised by both consumers and practitioners, as the appointment of professional judges will bring a degree of professionalism to the court that is sorely needed. Additionally, attorneys will be ensured of receiving consistent opinions by judges well versed in the applicable law. Con- sumers will be better protected because those who should legitimately be removed from the profession will be removed more quickly.

yond ny of our expectations. The re ult will b con I tency and hence predictabili- ty - th hallmark of an efficient judicial ystem, a we all know. I do agree with th author on part of his central point: Th r is a need for attorney volunteer to a sJSt the profession. The new State Bar d1SC1phne ystem will need expert witne ses, help in probation mom- taring and a sistance in drug/alcohol abu program . The profe sion·s help is needed mmany area , and it will be called upon. It will r pond if channels are pro· vided for it. But we should not be the adju- d1cators of our own d1 cipline. We should not seek that ta k. Contrary to the author's thes1 , the bar did not "wimp out." [Editor's note: The word "wimp" was u ed in the headline only and did not appear in the text.] It did omething rather extraordinary. It gave up som of its prerogatives to an entity that can and will do a better job. And it paid for th privilege. This i not wimping out. There was nothing cowardly about bar President P. Terry Anderlini's odyssey throughout the tale to sell that difficult formula. That 1s the kind of courage which ets an example for all of us . Anderlini was not alone. The Board of Governors includes a substantial number of members seeking to do the riaht thina, notwithstandini a measure of professional inconvenience or sacrifice. That i the spITTt worthy of pride. It lives and breathe mCalifornia. and Hard Work With respect to Gert Hrrschberg's arti- cle "The State Bar Has Wimped Out on Di ciplmc," which appeared m the March 17 Daily Journal, I would like to commend the state Legislature for enacting the re- cent legislatJon that provides for the ap- pointment of a discipline monitor and profe sional administrative law judges to the State Bar court. Clearly, these ac- ROBERT C. EET I METH State Bar Discipline Monitor

It Took Courage ...

'Subconsciously it can affect how you vote, and the people that spend the money know it.' - Sen. Barry Keene its members no longer could vote on bills affect- ing interests from which they have taken gifts or honorariums. n an ·ntervicw yesterday, Keene confirm d his quotes in the magazine, and provided some elaboration. His comments, he said, were directed more at campaign con- tributions and honorariums than at gifts, "unless you're talking about major trips, something like month that that." Sure, there are direct tr~de-offs of money for votes, he said, but such outright quid-pro- quos are less of a problem - and certainly less provable - than is the perception that votes are for sale. "I think it's a very subtle, psy- chological thing," he said. "It has to do with a favorable impression about somebody, maybe some s~nse of obligation. It's a very difficult relationship that is cre- at~d. The people responding tg1~ng the money) think they are gettmg something out of it." That's quite a contrast to what Assembly Speaker Willie Brown D-San ~rancisco, said recently i~ defending honorariums. "They

•

19

may look like vote-buying, but it really does not have anything to do with vote-buying," said Brown. He said members of the Legis- lature are invited to make speeches before constituent or- ganizations that invariably have some relationship to government. "There is no way to absolutely separate that. It's the ultimate in cynicism to assume that's vote- buying," he said. investigation of Capitol corruption continues to hang over lawmakers, however, an? as other all_egations of legis- lative wrongdoing continue to surface, even Brown occasionally acknowledges the need for the Legislature to clean up its act. In one interview not long ago, for exar:nple, he said he thought the Legislature's tarnished image wo~ld be helped by putting a hm1t on the number of bills that can be introduced. By limiting a legislator's ability to introduce bills, he said, "you probably reduce the opportunity for members to allow their greed to screw around with their judgment.". A goal to which the Legislature might aspire was capsulized in testimony before the Assembly ethics panel last week by Robert Fellmeth, a law professor at the U_Eiversity of San Diego and di- rector of the university's Center for Public Interest Law. As an FBI

'The_y may look like vote-buying, but 1t re~lly does not have anything to do with vote-buying.' -Assembly Speaker Willie Brown

P lo Alto , CA (Santa Clara Co .) Peninsula Times Tribune (Cir. D. 60,288) < cir. s. 60,011 l

APR 1 / l 89

La Jolla, CA (San Diego Co.) La Jolla Light (Cir. W. 9,336) APR 1 319&9

Jl({,,i '• P C 8

I

I I

Pacific suq~rises San Jose; Santa Clara wins ta'lfPld's conference mark falls to 7-14 in loss' to USC Specjol to the Tl~ rl un~ C Stanford starter Steve Chltren ( 4- 12·1. Cel dropped to 7.14 zg. 18 yielding to reliever Don Dryden (2· 2), who took the loss. 3 ) was th e loser. Elsewhere In the Pa~-10, Kevin

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. April 15 - U will recognize . five outstanding San Diegans at the University of San Diego Deans' Ball begmiilng at 6:30 p.m. at the San Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis Resort. Tickets are $125, $200 and $300 per person. Proceeds go to student and faculty development in all five USO schools. Call Bet- ty Brock, 276-2631 or John Nunes, 260-4682. ) ~~c; ..., r-, r-. __:___...-::::....

~

Q LLEGE BASEBALL

Pac-10 baseball

Stanford led, 2·1, after three In• Higgins' sacrifice fly In the top of the seventh provided the winning open by scoring four runs in the run as third-ranked Arizona State fourth, three In the fifth and two in (15-6, 34-12) took a 5.4 win over the sixth. UCLA (7-14 18-23) Paul Carey drove In three of ' • · Stanford's tour runs with an Infield Dave Tellers and his San Jose out In the third Inning and a two- state teammates were surprised by run homer In the eighth inning, his University of the Pacific as the ninth of the season. Spartans absorbed a 5-4 Bl West In Tucson, Ariz., Alan Zinter hit a loss in Lodi. g two-run homer and Kevin Long had Tellers, who was 11-2 coming a two-run double as Arizona scored into the game (the best record In nine runs In the seventh to beat the Big West), gave up three runs Cel, 16-6. The Wlldcats are 16-5, 33- on nine hits in five innings before nlngs. The Trojans blew the game

San Jose's Eric Booker was three for four, Including a solo home run In the sixth Inning. The Spartans are 6-3 and 33-9. UOP Is 2·7 and 13-25. • Santa Clara University remained tied for second In the West Coast Athletic As.5oclatlon with a 19-4 win at Unlversltv of San Diego. Bruce Powers had five hits, In• eluding three doubles, and six RBI to lead the Broncos (8-4, 30-15). Santa Clara Is tied with Loyola Marymount tor second.

SOUTHERN DIVISION

L Pct.

W 16 15 11

.762 .714 .524 .333 .333 .333

5 6

Arizona Arizona State Southern Cal Stanford Callfomla UCLA

champion, slipped to 7-14 In the Pac-10 and 19·23 overall. USC Is 11· 10 and 32·18. Boone hit his ninth homer of the season In the fifth Inning with a runn r aboard . Proctor hit his third homer later In the Inning with the b empty. Proctor also had a double and a Ingle. He drove In three runs on the day and scored twice.

1 5 9 9 Q

10 14 14 14

7 7 7

San Diego slipped to 1-4, 15-25-1. Santa Clara's Larry Donahe, who came on In relief, claimed the school record for pitching appear- ances with 60. ,

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