law day
The Rule of Law
By Ben L. Weinberg Jr
Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial LLC
I
t may be a result of my professional training
and lengthy practice as an attorney. However,
irrespective of the causal source, I believe in
the Rule of Law.
In essence this Rule of Law, celebrated annually
with Law Day, exists because it reflects the better
side of human behavior, because these behavioral
requirements were made by all of us, because
most of us believe in it and because we insist that
everyone, even those who don’t, must behave as
if it exists.
Without this belief in the Rule of Law to which
all of us are subject, humankind would be
constrained to resolve issues on the basis of who
is the richest, strongest or more influential or who
has the biggest gun or the sharpest knife.
And I believe in Liberty – the right to assemble
peacefully, the freedom to chart our own
individual course so long as we do not impinge
on this same liberty of others. This includes the
freedom to speak out even though our views may
not at that time be popular, as long as these views
are conscientiously and sincerely held – and do
not infringe upon the rights of others.
I believe in Balance. The Constitution of The
United States gives often overlapping powers to
three distinct organs of our national government:
the Executive – our President; the Legislative
– our Congress, the House of Representatives and
the Senate; the Judiciary – our judges. Where
these Constitutionally mandated powers overlap
– and many of them do -- it is necessary that an
independent and unbiased Judiciary ultimately
resolve resulting issues on the basis of the public
good.
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THE ATLANTA LAWYER
March/April 2011
[email protected]
In my opinion the Rule of Law is the
single greatest achievement of our
human society. The Rule of Law and
our American Constitution are bulwarks
against both mob rule as well as against the
overreaching exercise of power by either
the Executive or the Legislative branch of
our government. These bulwarks protect
us when we stand alone against those who
don’t agree with us; it also protects them
when we don’t agree with them.
There have been occasions when we
were confronted with a crisis that we
thought posed a threat to our national
existence. At such times we are tempted
to stop believing in the Rule of Law, and
to tread upon the rights of these others
whose actions seem to threaten us. If we
yield to this temptation, as we have done
on several occasions in the more than
230 years of our national existence, we
will have weakened its protection for the
rest of us.
Due Process –the right to notice and a fair
opportunity to be heard—is an essential
element in this Rule of Law. Without it we
tend to act hastily and irrationally, and we
create precedents that weaken our belief
in the Rule of Law.
In an ultimate sense I believe that the
Rule of Law is the necessary foundation
of truly civilized societies. Law Day
gives us the public opportunity to stand
up and say so. ■
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association