Vol. 104, No.

222 | Wednesday, January 15, 2014

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DAILY BRIEFS
ROSSLER, METCALFE NEW GABLEGOTWALS SHAREHOLDERS Paul Rossler and Greg Metcalfe have joined the GableGotwals Law Firm as shareholders January 2014. Rossler has been an associate with GableGotwals since 2007. He has an ROSSLER extensive background in intellectual property and engineering. Prior to practicing law, Rossler served on the engineering METCALFE faculty at Oklahoma State University and Kettering University. His court admissions include the United States Patent & Trademark Ofce along with all Oklahoma courts. He is also a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma. In 2013, Rossler was named by Super Lawyers a Rising Star in Intellectual See Briefs, 2

Challenges ahead for lawyers, judges

Education is key to offsetting problems
ralphs@tulsabusiness.com

BY RALPH SCHAEFER

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Challenges face the legal community and the states judicial system in 2014. Renee DeMoss, the 2014 Oklahoma Bar Association president, addressing members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court and those attending her inauguration in the associations top leadership role, said the real lesson she learned while attending nine different Oklahoma schools as a child was that a good education was critically important. DeMoss has practiced law with the GableGotwals Law Firm in Tulsa for 30 years. As lawyers, we OBA members must be committed to education, DeMoss emphasized. That work extends to fellow Oklahomans who need to understand the importance of preserving our democracy. That means taking steps to educate people about the three branches of government and their roles, especially that of the judiciary. The rule of law requires that every citizen in the state must be governed by the same law, which must be applied fairly, consistently, and equally to all people regardless of gender, race, nationality or wealth. That means judges must never favor one side or the other when the law is applied. It means we must have qualified judges who decide on individual cases based on the evidence of the law, even when they know the decision will be unpopular, DeMoss said. This is a difficult task and it occurs only when people cannot agree

on how to answer their questions. That is when the issues are taken to the court. Many times the questions involve issues that judges would prefer not to decide, but they must. When passions are high on both sides of the case, it is almost guaranteed that one side is going to be unhappy with that final decision. That happens and that unhappiness lands squarely at the feet of our courts. The new OBA president announced a series of statewide speakers bureaus will be established that will provide lawyer members the tools and forms needed to talk about the unique role of the third branch of government. The public today does not invest time thinking about democracy and how lawyers make a living, DeMoss said. Polls show that most Americans can name the three stooges, but cannot name three members of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judicial town hall meetings will be scheduled in county courthouses to discuss with friends and neighbors about what qualifies a good judge and how the selection process works in the state. The threat against the judiciary is the result of a lack of knowledge and public interest, coupled with periodic unhappiness with court decisions that can be a danger to the system of justice in Oklahoma. Challenges and a desire to change how qualified judges are selected are the result. There also are attempts to force judges off the bench simply because people disagree with their decisions. Work will not stop with the town hall meetings. DeMoss talked about the Law Day

Renee DeMoss recited the oath of ofce, as she became president of the Oklahoma Bar Association for 2014. Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert administered the oath.

RALPH SCHAEFER

Committee, which will conduct programs for the public following the theme Democracy and You. OBA members will be out in full force in March at the capital to visit with lawmakers. The OBA court facts website will be expanded so the public can See Education, 2

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