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JANUARY, 2019 Vol. 52, No. 1A Publication of the OKLAHOMA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONWWW.OKCBAR.ORGEDDIE GOLDMAN: WHAT A LIFE!By Special Judge Allen WelchHarold Konigsberg was a bad man. Hewas a loan shark who specialized in thrashing “deadbeats” with a lead-lined rubberhose. He was also a suspect in perhapstwenty mob hits.A New York City policeman said, “Heenjoyed killing, and enjoyed getting paidfor it.” He represented himself in an extortion trial, claimed insanity, and – apparently in an effort to foster that defense – defecated in his pants mid-trial. Later, duringa confab of mobsters, Konigsberg casuallycircled behind “Three Fingers” Castellitoand strangled him to death with Venetianblind cords. Castellito’s body was neverfound, but Konigsberg was sentenced totwenty years for the murder.Imagine wide-eyed little EddieGoldman and his buddies sitting on thecorner, spitting and whittling, and sharingthe latest stories about the local wiseguys,like Harold Konigsberg.Eddie Goldman grew up in Bayonne,New Jersey, just across the river from NewYork City. Bayonne and nearby cities likeHoboken were full of notorious characters.Frank Sinatra was from Hoboken. Eddie’sfather told his sons that Frank Sinatra was“a bum.”Eddie’s mother weigh 102 pounds butwas often, Eddie said, “in your face.” Hisfather was from Poland. He sold soda. Alocal named Harold Konigsberg loadedsoda trucks for Eddie’s father, until hefound another calling.Teen-aged Eddie was a baker, earning 3.15 an hour, when his parents told himto go to school and see a counselor, in noparticular order. Eddie located a college ina faraway land called Oklahoma. “I didn’teven know where Oklahoma was,” saidEddie, “but I did know about OU football.”He told his father that he was, nonetheless,not going to college. “Oh, yes, you are,”his father barked. That settled that. Eddiesoon moved from the New York Citymetroplex to the plains of Oklahoma. Heenrolled at Oklahoma City University onehot day in August 1964.Eddie played baseball at OCU, andhelped make ends meet by being a dormcounselor. He intended to teach and coachafter he graduated. He then met, however, his life-long mentor, Paul Hansen.(Paul Hansen later became the basketballSee WHAT A LIFE!, PAGE 9Eddie Goldman with brother Robert Goldmanand their father.MAPS 4It’s time for a new County JailBy Miles PringleMayor Holt is looking for ideas for MAPS 4, and he is challenging us to think big. Infact, the appointed theme of MAPS 4 is “Dream Big”. While I agree we need to dream,we first must address the nightmare in our midst – the Oklahoma County Jail.It is important to state that improvements have been made at the jail recently;however, many reports coming out of the jail have and continue to be inexcusable. In 2018 six inmates died while in custody,1 down from twelve in 2017 andfifteen in 2016.2 In February of this year, inmate Nicholas Green died from anaccidental drug overdose. In December, a County jailer was charged with committing two counts of sexual battery and two counts of forcible oral sodomyagainst a female inmate while on duty.3 Inmate deaths and other alleged civilrights abuses have resulted in several lawsuits.Costing county tax payers 52 million, “The 13-story jail has been plaguedwith structural and operational problems since it opened in 1991.”4 An awkward physical layout creates blind spots for the officers on staff (some of whichin 2008 existed within cells and showers).5 A straight-line plumbing system,which inmates sometimes intentionally clog to cause sewage to flood theSee MAPS 4, PAGE 4InsideOklahoma County BarAssociation Bench &Bar Conference 2019Page 6December DonationsPage 8From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Couthouse Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Stump Roscoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Cato’s Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Book Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Bar Observer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Old News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Volunteer Oppotunities . . . . . . . . 11PRSRT STDUS POSTAGEPAIDPERMIT# 59OKLA CITY OK
2 BRIEFCASE January 2019From the PresidentBRIEFCASEJanuary 2019Briefcase is a monthly publication of theOklahoma County Bar Association119 North Robinson Ave.Oklahoma City, OK 73102(405) 236-8421Briefcase CommitteeJudge Jim Croy, Chris Deason, Ryan Dean,Ben Grubb, Justin Hiersche, Scott Jones, MattKane, Jeff Massie, Joi Miskel, Travis Pickens,Miles Pringle, Austin Reams, Cari Remillard, RexTravis, Judge Geary Walke, Judge Allen Welch& Alisa WhiteEditorShanda McKenneyContributing EditorsMichael BrewerRichard GoralewiczBill GordenOklahoma County Bar AssociationPresidentPresident-ElectVice PresidentPast PresidentTreasurerBar CounselOFFICERS:Judge Sheila StinsonMichael BrewerJudge Don AndrewsDavid CheekRobert D. NelonCoree StevensonSTAFF:Executive DirectorLegal Placement DirectorMembership ServicesDebbie GordenPam BennettConnie ResarJournal Record Publishing Co. Inc.Special Projects SupervisorKady WeddleFor advertising information,call 278-2830.Postmaster: Send address changes to OCBABriefcase, 119 North Robinson Ave., OklahomaCity, Oklahoma 73102.Journal Record Publishing produces the Briefcasefor the Oklahoma County Bar Association, which issolely responsible for its content. 2019 Oklahoma County Bar AssociationOKLAHOMA COUNTY BARASSOCIATIONMISSION STATEMENTVolunteer lawyers and judges dedicatedto serving the judicial system, their profession, and their community in order to fosterthe highest ideals of the legal profession, tobetter the quality of life in Oklahoma County,and to promote justice for all.2019 – A Year toBe a Little KinderBy Sheila StinsonAs we start thisnew year, I am excited about some thingsplanned with theOCBA for 2019. Solook for some newand upcoming events.The new year also includes the swearingin of several new judges in the OklahomaCity metro area and throughout the state,including the swearing in of OklahomaCounty’s own Justice Noma Gurich asChief Justice of the Oklahoma SupremeCourt. So on behalf of the OklahomaCounty Bar Association, I welcome thenew and returning members of the judiciary, and we as an Association look forward to working with each of you.As the new year starts, it’s always fullof resolutions, goal setting, and evaluating what worked and didn’t work in thelast year. As 2019 started, I asked mytwo young children what goals they hadfor the upcoming year. My 8 year old iswhat some may refer to as an “old soul.”He tends to contemplate things a littlemore than my younger son. So aftersome discussion, he decided that in thenext year, he wants to “be a little kinderand to stay out of trouble.” I realizedthat should probably be the goal for allof us.Starting with the kindness, we can allbe a little kinder. I know I can be. I havea quote on my desk that says “Be kindwhenever possible. It is always possible.” I need to read that quote moreoften than I do. I also need to tape it tomy dash for my commute up I-35 eachevening. Regarding kindness in the legalprofession, I’m not sure if it was the endof the year stresses I wrote about lastmonth, or the weather, or some aspect ofthe moon that I don’t understand, but inDecember I saw more not-so-kind state-ments and actions by counsel and parties than usual. As much as we beg forcivility and professionalism, I proposeit is ultimately all rooted in kindness.Sometimes it’s really hard to be kind,but if my 8 year old wants to be kinder tohis sometimes pesky, taunting, youngerbrother whose primary purpose on thisearth is to strengthen his brother throughacts of torment and teasing, I encourageyou to be kinder to everyone in your professional and personal dealings.One way to work toward kindnessin our profession is through our ownAssociation. A friend years ago toldme something that has always stayedwith me: “You can’t hate up close.” It’shard to hate a person, or even be overlyunkind to someone, if you they sit acrossthe table from you at an OCBA committee meeting. It’s hard to call someoneunkind names in the courthouse hallways if you know you are volunteeringwith that person the following week byreading to children. So if you are looking for ways to build bridges and engagewith your own legal community, call theOCBA office and say you want to help.Call me, if you want to help.Now, for the stay out of trouble resolution. Granted, “trouble” for my 2ndgrader likely looks a little different than“trouble” for a grown lawyer or judge.But maybe it’s doesn’t. It includes following the rules, listening more than youtalk, questioning authority with respectand reverence, taking care of yourself,taking care of others, not lying, beingon time, and accepting responsibilityfor your messes. So, I propose that in2019, we declare, as a profession, andas a group of people that all associateourselves with the legal community,that staying out of trouble needs to be adeclared resolution.Go forth and be kind, and stay out oftrouble. If a sweet little 8 year old canstrive for it, so can we! And for thoseof you wondering about the 5 year old’sresolution, it was to go to Toys R Usmore often. I don’t have the heart to tellhim.Courthouse BriefsJUDGE:DOCKET:COURTROOM:Heather CoyleCindy Truong#811Kendra ColemanGlenn Jones#722Lisa DavisHoward HaralsonJuvenile #205Beth KerrJim Croy#602Natalie MaiBill Graves#709Amy PalumboMichele McElwee#809Susan StallingsLisa Davis#800Aletia TimmonsSame#201Cindy TruongPatricia Parrish#709Quote of the MONTHThere is a cult of ignorance in the United States, andthere always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualismhas been a constant thread winding its way through ourpolitical and cultural life, nurtured by the false notionthat democracy means that “my ignorance is just as goodas your knowledge.” — Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)
www.okcbar.org January 2019 BRIEFCASE 3Stump RoscoeSTUMP ROSCOEByRoscoe X. PoundDear Roscoe: My client’s late husbandfiled for bankruptcy. They had anotherhouse in Estes Park which they, and theirchildren, use for a vacation home. Theyheld title as joint tenants. Now the Trusteeis suing to sell the property. Don’t youthink the bankruptcy court lost jurisdictionat the moment of his death since it passedimmediately to his wife by operation oflaw? J.R., Bethany, OKDEAR J.R.: First, condolences toyour client. Death in a family is alwaysa sad thing, but it’s especially cruddy, in my opinion, when it overshadowsthe Holidays. Getting to your question,I agree with you, and think the TenthCircuit would too. They just decided inCohen v. Chernushin under similar facts.A Colorado widow opposed a Trustee’sefforts to sell a second home after thesuicide of her spouse. The property washeld in joint tenancy by the couple, andHusband alone filed for Chapter 7. Shetoo claimed the estate’s interest died withMr. Chernushin. The Bankruptcy Courtagreed, as did the District Court. TheTenth Circuit affirmed.The court laid out the basics: “The commencement of a bankruptcy case “createsan estate.” 11 U.S.C. § 541(a). “Section541(a)(1) provides that the property ofthe estate includes ‘all legal or equitableinterests of the debtor in property as ofthe commencement of the bankruptcycase.” However, the court noted, absentsome overriding federal interest, the existence and extent of property interest posequestions of State law. The court alsoruled “Congress intended the trustee tostand in the shoes of the debtor and ‘takeno greater rights than the debtor himselfhad.” Under Colorado law, each jointtenant possesses an undivided interest inthe whole property. [A]ny “[s]everancemust occur prior to the death of one of thejoint tenants, since the right of survivorship instantly vests title to the whole property in the surviving tenant at the momentof death of the other joint tenant.”The Trustee argued: (1) Federal Rule ofBankruptcy Procedure 1016 provides thatthe death of the debtor does not impactthe bankruptcy estate; (2) the Chapter7 trustee has plenary authority over thebankruptcy estate subject to bankruptcycourt approval; and (3) the Chapter 7trustee has greater rights than the debtorunder the strong arm clause.As to the first argument, the TenthCircuit ruled that nothing in the plaintext of the rule states that the bankruptcyestate can never change upon the deathof the debtor. Instead, the rule directs thatthe bankruptcy proceedings shall continue and the estate “shall be administeredand the case concluded in the samemanner, so far as possible,” as thoughdeath had not transpired. This is a procedural rule. It says nothing substantialabout the bankruptcy estate. Next, thecourt found that the Trustee’s argumentis based on a misunderstanding about theproperty in Mr. Chernushin’s bankruptcyestate. Colorado’s joint tenancy law didnot interfere with federal law or with hisability to manage the bankruptcy estate tothe extent of the property lawfully included. Finally, the strong arm clause “givesa bankruptcy Trustee special powers todefeat the status of certain creditors.”Ms. Chernushin is not a creditor, nor isthere any question about the status of anycreditors related to the second home. Shewas a joint tenant and is now the soleowner of the second home.Dear Roscoe: My client taught ata private religious school. As part ofher duties she led opening and closing prayers each day, and taught the“Bible-based curriculum” endorsed bythe school. When she informed the schoolthat she needed a few weeks off for medical treatment the school fired her. I senta demand letter to the school, assertingmy client’s ADA rights. I receive a letterback from some lawyer in Topeka sayinghe represents the school, and that theADA doesn’t apply due to the “ministerialexemption.” Is there such an animal and,if so, how do I kill it? M.D.B., OKCDEAR MDB: There is indeed such ananimal. The Supreme Court confirmedin HosannaTabor Evangelical LutheranChurch & School v. E.E.O.C. that, aspart of that right, the First Amendment’sEstablishment and Free Exercise Clauses“bar the government from interferingwith the decision of a religious group tofire one of its ministers.” 565 U.S. 171,181 (2012); The Court grounded thisprinciple in a longstanding historical andjurisprudential concern with “politicalinterference” in “matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.” Id. at 184, 186 (citations omitted).When the ministerial exception applies,it categorically bars an employee’s suitunder otherwise generally applicableemployment laws. Assuming your clientis not an ordained minister in the faithin question, the operative inquiry here iswhether it applies.Ordinarily, teaching basic subjects toa certain grade does not make the teacher a minister. Two key questions areTIMELESSDESIGNS ANDALL-DAYCOMFORT FROMOUR ALDENCASUALSTEENA HICKS COMPANYOKLAHOMA TOWER 210 PARK AVENUE, SUITE 220OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73102(405) 235-4800whether your client held herself out asa minister, and whether she performeda key role in “transmitting the faith tothe next generation.” Hosanna-Tabor,emphasized the importance of assessingboth the amount of time spent on religiousfunctions and “the nature of the religiousfunctions performed.” 565 U.S. at 194(emphasis added); see also id. at 204(Alito, J., concurring) (“What matters isthat [the individual] played an importantrole as an instrument of her church’sreligious message and as a leader of itsworship activities.”). This sounds likea quantitative factual inquiry. A contrary rule, making any school employeewho teaches religion would fall withinthe ministerial exception, would not befaithful to Hosanna-Tabor or its underlying constitutional and policy considerations. It would render most of the analysis in Hosanna-Tabor irrelevant, basingthe exception on a single aspect of theemployee’s role rather than on a holisticexamination of her training, duties, title,and the extent to which she is tasked withtransmitting religious ideas.Hope you all have a great 2019 in storefor you.Holidays here were tense but blessedlyuneventful. I lived under the threat laiddown by that rotund hit-man I told youabout, but no one took any actions to follow through.One morning in January, I left theHudson County Courthouse making myway to the parking lot on Newark Avenue.As I approached Larry and Joe’s Pizza, Inoticed Ernie Trani outside that restaurant,apparently just holding up the wall. I started to speak, but a subtle shake of his headdissuaded me. As I began to cross overat Chestnut, I heard Ernie call out: “HeyPhilthy.”I turned. Ernie stood on the corner withtwo other guys, his pistol at the back of thetaller one’s head. “Citizen’s Arey – ust”Ernie called in a nasal drawl. The otherman plunged his hand inside his coat. Ashadow passed briefly. Al, the expensively but impeccably coifed wookie who didErnie’s driving, pistol whipped him to theground. “I saw that,” an old man calledout. “The big guy buffaloed him.” “Yessir,” Al answered somewhat apologetically, “Just as hard as I could.”Several uniformed officers approached,weapons out and ready. They called uponErnie to drop his gun. Ernie replied: “OK.So long as you guys keep your weaponson these two. This fella here is DaveCarnahan out of Philly. He’s a hitter andbail jumper wanted for questioning bythe FBI. The guy on the ground is MarcWilloughby from Camden. He’s wantedby the Newark P.D. for aggravated assaultand witness intimidation.” So saying,Ernie raised his hands, gun dangling fromhis index finger by the trigger guard.More officers arrived. They collectedthe weapons all around, and placed each ofthe four in cuffs.“You’re getting old Roscoe,” Ernie said.“In the old days you’d’ve made these torpedoes.”“I did,” I told him.“So what was your plan?”“Keep walking ‘til you took care of it.”“Presumption’s a sin, you know. Youdidn’t even draw,” he pointed out.“I’m not armed.”Ernie looked as if he pitied me.“What. I can’t bring a gun into thecourthouse.”The look Ernie gave me suggested along-suffering tutor hearing the recitationsof a bright but underperforming student.One call for all of your insurance needs!405.521.16003000iG.com
4 BRIEFCASE January 2019MAPS 4It’s time for a new County JailMAPS 4 From PAGE 1officers below, is also used as a communication system throughout the entire jail.6An outbreak of mold cost the county morethan 850,000 to address.7 CommissionerRay Vaughn stated that “Mold continuesto be pervasive due to leaking water pipesthat will cost 5 million to replace It’smoney the county doesn’t have.”8In 2008, the federal governmentremoved all federal detainees from theOklahoma County Jail because of thedanger it posed to prisoner safety, andten years later it still will not use the jail.9Since 2009 the jail has been operatingunder a Memorandum of Understandingwith the U.S. Department of Justice afteran investigation found 60 civil rights violations.10 The Department determined thatthe Oklahoma County Jail fails to providedetainees with: 1) reasonable protectionfrom harm; 2) constitutionally-requiredmental health care services; 3) adequatehousing, sanitation and environmental protections; and, 4) protection from seriousfire-safety risks. The findings supportingthe Department of Justice’s determinationwere appalling. For example, a letter fromthe then Acting Assistant Attorney Generalstated that “we found detainees sleepingon the floor and three or four detaineeslocked into two-man cells. The detaineesspend nearly 24-hours per day in thesecramped quarters.”11 The letter noted that“the excessive number of detainees inclose quarters contributes to issues such asincreased violence among detainees andthe grossly unsanitary condition of cells.”The Department further documented “aninordinately high risk of detainee-on-detainee violence at the Jail as a result ofthe Jail’s chronic overcrowding,” and that“between January 2006 and March 2007there were 1,337 reported use of forceincidents” by the jail staff.As cited ad nauseum in the JusticeDepartment’s report, the biggest issuefacing the jail (and Oklahoma more generally) is that too many people are beingjailed. From 1983 to 2016 the county jailpopulation in Oklahoma County grewfrom 495 people to 2,581, a more thanfivefold increase.12 What is also concerning is why these prisoners are detainedin the first place. According to OklahomaCounty Commissioner Ray Vaughn, “Thehighest population of offenders in the jailcommitted misdemeanors. They are notfelons The highest population of thosemisdemeanor offenses are being arrestedfor not having a valid driver’s license.”13According to another report, approximately “80 percent of people coming into thejail are pretrial; they are not being punished for an offense, they have not beenfound guilty. One-quarter of all jail admissions are for the lowest-level offenses:municipal and traffic violations—publicdrunkenness, not having a driver’s licenseat the time of a traffic stop, failing topay a municipal fine or fee, etc.—fromOklahoma City.”14Thus, I do not argue that building anew Oklahoma County Jail will in any wayfix our broken criminal justice system. Nordo I place sole blame for the issues affecting the jail on staff, law enforcement, oreven the building itself for the dreadfulconditions to which we confine our fellowcitizens. We are simply locking too manypeople up, and we do not have the resources to do it in a humane, constitutional oreven productive manner. Nevertheless, wecan improve the intolerable facilities wedo have for the staff, the inmates and themoral worth of our community.Leaders in the Oklahoma City community have been stepping up regardingthe County Jail, and Criminal Justicereform more generally. In late 2015 theGreater Oklahoma City Chamber created aspecial task force chaired by Clay Bennettto evaluate Oklahoma County’s criminaljustice system, make recommendations,and prepare for future investments in theCounty’s jail and other related facilities.In addition to Bennett, the members of thetask force included prominent OklahomaCity leaders such as former Mayor MickCornett; Oklahoma Supreme Court JusticeNoma Gurich; Robert Henry, former ChiefJustice of the 10th Circuit Court of Appealsand former President and CEO, OklahomaCity University; Larry Nichols, ChairmanEmeritus, Devon Energy Corporation;and, David Rainbolt, President/CEO,BancFirst Corporation. Information andreports by the task force can be found atwww.smartsafeokco.com.The group’s final report was issuedon December 14, 2016. Many of the factsin this article are drawn from that report.The task force agreed that systematicovercrowding is the main issue affectingconditions at the jail, stating that “Tobe sure, there are critical humanitarianconcerns with the current facility, but jailovercrowding is not a problem that thecounty can simply build its way out of.Rather, the county needs systemic reformsthat address the root causes of the overcrowding.” The task force recommend sixareas of reform including keeping peoplecharged with lower level offenses out ofthe jail entirely and creating alternativesto jail for people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders.ABRAHAMSBAIL & APPEARANCEBONDSJANUARY 25, 2019YLD Chili Cook-Off & Silent AuctionTwisted Spike Brewery, 1 NE 10FEBRUARY 14 – 18, 2019Winter Seminar 2019Santa Fe, New MexicoMARCH 3, 2019OCBA Night At The ThunderThunder v. Grizzlies, 6:00 p.m.Chesapeake ArenaMARCH 29 – 31, 20192019 OCBA Bench & Bar ConferenceSequoyah State LodgeThe recommendations by the taskforce address the systematic issues affecting our local prison population; however,we will likely always be in need of a county jail. For 25 years our current facilityhas failed all of us. It is time for a changeto reflect Oklahoma County and its values.I am not the first, nor likely the last,to raise this idea. Oklahoma Joe – JoeHight – published an article on December10th calling on Oklahoma City to addressthe jail. Joe argues “In the midst of thedowntown Oklahoma City progress andsuccess, the fading 13-story, 27-year-oldstructure stands as a testament of our failure. And each year we don’t do somethingabout it, it becomes even more unseemlyand the cost of replacing it increases.”15 Solet’s do something.6Coburn, James, “Oklahoma County Jail discussions continue”, The Edmond Sun, published Aug. 15,2017.(Endnotes)1KOCO Staff, “Authorities investigating inmate’sdeath at Oklahoma County Jail”, KOCO News 5, published Dec. 17, 2018.2Brus, Brian, “Sheriff probes another death inOklahoma County Jail”, The Journal Record, publishedSept. 4, 2018.11 July 31, 2008 Letter by Acting Assistant AttorneyGeneral Grace Chung Becker, “Investigation of theOklahoma County Jail and Jail Annex, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma”, available at gacy/2011/04/13/OKCounty Jail findlet 073108.pdf.3Dulaney, Josh, “Former Oklahoma County jailercharged with sex crimes against female inmate”, published Dec. 12, 2018.4McNutt, K.S., “Oklahoma County jail improvements seen as population hits record low”, TheOklahoman, published Dec. 28, 2017.5July 31, 2008 Letter by Acting Assistant AttorneyGeneral Grace Chung Becker, “Investigation of theOklahoma County Jail and Jail Annex, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma”, available at gacy/2011/04/13/OKCounty Jail findlet 073108.pdf;NATIONWIDESINCE19597Clay, Nolan, “Rash of lawsuits over mold atOklahoma County Detention Center blamed on ‘jailhouse lawyer’”, The Oklahoman, published Sept. 9,2018.8McNutt, K.S., “Oklahoma County jail improvements seen as population hits record low”, TheOklahoman, published December 28, 2017.9Clay, Nolan, “Oklahoma County jail to remainunder federal oversight for now”, The Oklahoman,published Nov. 2, 2018.10 Clay, Nolan, “Flesh-eating bacteria killedOklahoma County jail inmate”, The Oklahoman, published Oct. 4, 2018.12 Greater Oklahoma City Chamber CriminalJustice Reform Task Force, “Report andRecommendations”, published Dec. 14, 2016.13 Coburn, James, “Oklahoma County Jail discussions continue”, The Edmond Sun, published Aug. 15,2017.14 Greater Oklahoma City Chamber CriminalJustice Reform Task Force, “Report andRecommendations”, published Dec. 14, 2016.15 Hight, Joe, “Oklahoma Joe: City, county mustface reality on building new jail”, The Journal Record,published Dec. 10, 2018.SPECIALIZING INLARGE BONDS405-528-8000
www.okcbar.org January 2019 BRIEFCASE 5Cato’s Letters: No. 42Considerations On The Nature Of LawsBy Trenchard & Gordon - August 26, 1721We will depart again from whole transcriptions and in the spirit of brevity pick and choose those tidbits that seem to me to best express the theme of the entire letter.By Geary WalkeHuman malice exceeds human wisdom. Whenever lawsfail we must have recourse to reason and nature, which arethe only guides in the making of laws. Cicero said “Thefoundation of the law was uncovered from nature itself.”Positive laws can never entirely prevent the arts of craftymen to evade them or the power of great ones to violatethem. New laws are daily in the making and new occasionsfor more are daily arising. Some laws are therefore signsof the corruption of man and many laws are signs of thecorruption of a state.Positive laws taken from the law of nature according tothe exigencies of times, places and persons, grow obsoleteor cease to be as soon as they cease to be necessary. Law isright reason; commanding things that are good and forbidding things that are bad; distinguishing and declaring thingsthat are just and unjust, and the penalties or advantagesannexed to them.Every people are capable of making laws, and good laws;and laws that are bad are gained by corruption, faction, fearor surprise. Arms and money procured Caesar a law todeclare him lawless. But as the most pompous power cannever unsettle the everlasting landmarks between good andevil, no more than those between pleasure and pain, Caesarremained still a rebel to his country and his acts remainedwicked and tyrannical.Laws are not always the measure of right and wrong.Law is based not on men’s opinions but on nature. It isimpossible to devise laws sufficient to regulate and manageevery occurrence and circumstance of life. And, men musthave, and will have, great allowances made to their ownnatural liberty and discretion. Every man should do all thegood and prevent all the evil that he can. This is the voiceof the law of nature and all men would be happy by it if allmen would practice it. The establishment of falsehood andtyranny cannot be justly called law which is the impartialrule of good and evil, and can never the sanction of evilalone.Law ought to be a reformer of vice and an incentive tovirtue. Rewards and punishments therefore constitute thewhole strength of laws. Promulgation of laws is an appealto the sense and interest of men, which of the two they willchoose.The two great laws of human society are those of equityand self-preservation. By the first all men are bound alikenot to hurt one another. By the second all men have a rightalike to defend themselves. All the laws of society areentirely reciprocal and no man ought to be exempt fromtheir force. He who observes no law forfeits all title to theprotection of law. It is wickedness not to destroy a destroyer. Many mischiefs are prevented by destroying one whoshows a certain disposition to commit many. To allow alicense to any man to do evil with impunity is to make vicetriumph over virtue and make innocence the prey of theguilty. If any man may destroy whom he pleases withoutresistance then he may extinguish the human race withoutresistance.The law of nature does not only allow us to defend ourselves but obliges us to defend ourselves. He who doesnot resist mischief when he may is guilty of the same crimeas if he deserted his parents, his friends and his country.Laws are the checks upon the unruly and partial appetites of men. The great difficulty has hitherto been to findproper checks for those who are to check and administer thelaws. No man in society ought to
Eddie Goldman grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, just across the river from New York City. Bayonne and nearby cities like Hoboken were full of notorious characters. Frank Sinatra was from Hoboken. Eddie's father told his sons that Frank Sinatra was "a bum." Eddie's mother weigh 102 pounds but was often, Eddie said, "in your face." His
