News & Commentary

It’s already August, yikes. Tempus fugit.

June was a great month for the SBCBA. On June 20, the SBCBA’s Legislative Liaison Committee met with Assemblyman Das Williams to start a dialogue that we hope will continue with our State Representatives. We engaged in a good conversation on subjects ranging from his efforts to pass legislation regarding obtaining temporary restrain- ing orders against certain mentally unstable gun possessors to our interests in protecting the public’s access to justice through adequately funded courts and programs. We hope to continue the dialogue in these pages with a published interview. Assemblyman Williams has a lot to say about the legislative process that we believe will be of interest to our members.

Immediately following the meeting with Assemblyman Williams, the SBCBA had its annual Bar BBQ. The BBQ is a great event as it gives us all a chance to catch up with old friends and to get to know some of the newer members. We owe so much to the perennial volunteers, including, notably, Will Beall who has been pouring drinks for us for 30 years, Rusty Brace, Mack Staton, and Bill Duval, for their barbecue skills (and Rusty, in addition, for his elk chili), Paul Roberts and Tom Foley for helping each year, Joe Liebman for donating the wine for the event, and Marisa Beuoy for the killer peach dessert. Thanks to all that helped and who make this great social event so much fun for the rest of us.

On Friday, June 27, we were treated to an evening with famed constitutional law scholar, Laurence Tribe. Professor Tribe gave an amazing talk on the Supreme Court, one fascinating aspect of which was that despite our perception of the liberal/conservative divide, many of the most important cases in recent years have involved majorities composed of the most unlikely allies on the bench. Prof. Tribe taught constitutional law to Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Kagan, and President Obama, among others. Following his talk was a conversation moderated by Morgan Chu, and then a freewheeling question and answer period with the audi- ence. Professor Tribe pointed out that 5-4 decisions are no more prevalent than they have been in the past, and that in any case, on matters as important as those being decided by the Supreme Court, there is a lot to be said for lively debate and differing opinions.

The Laurence Tribe event brought in many attorneys that the SBCBA typically does not reach, including members of the District Attorney’s Office, members of the Public Defender’s Office, and County Counsel. It is our sincere hope that we can keep that momentum going. We strive to offer something for all practitioners in Santa Barbara County, public attorneys and private, litigators and transactional attorneys, and in-house counsel. We are always open to suggestions, and would welcome any ideas our readers may have for ways to better serve our public sector attorneys.

First published in the August 2014 edition of Santa Barbara Lawyers Magazine

- Scott B. Campbell
  Rogers Sheffield & Campbell, LLP
  2014 SBCBA President