by Mary V. York

I recently attended the Idaho Supreme Court Memorial Service honoring and remembering the attorneys and judges who passed during the last year. Every year that I can attend, I am reminded of the lions of the law – those who helped shape the dignity of our profession, set the standards for us to attain, and served as role models and mentors helping us better serve our clients. It is always a poignant and meaningful remembrance. If you haven’t yet read the memorial tributes for those honored at the Memorial Service, I encourage you to do so. The website to access the obituaries can be found here: https://isc.idaho.gov/files/2024-Memorial-Book.pdf. The heart-felt stories describe the histories, achievements, and service of these individuals, and importantly, they recount and celebrate the personal side we don’t always see.

Among the highlights of the service were the remarks from the Honorable Charles Hosack, Retired District Judge and Chair of the Idaho Supreme Court Memorial Service Committee. I regularly find inspiration in the words of others, so rather than attempt to summarize his comments, with his permission, I quote from his remarks:

There is a spirit, a unique spark of life, within the legal profession that is available to attorneys and judges. The genius of our Founding Fathers was in the creation of the Third Branch of Government—the Judicial Branch—to balance the executive and legislative branches. The Judicial Branch was necessary to apply the rule of law on behalf of ‘We the People’, and to prevent an authoritarian ruling, as had been so sadly the case for centuries under the kings and queens in Europe.

The rule of law under the Judicial Branch system values fairness, honesty, integrity, and an even handed legal process for resolving disputes and maintaining civility and public order. Our system of government, and the public at large, relies upon the legal profession to produce attorneys and judges who share a set of values that provides fairness and justice for all. One might characterize attorneys and judges as members of the workforce of the Judicial Branch. Consider the career of Chief Justice John Marshall, and the Supreme Court decisions in the early days of our Republic, that did so much to weave the fabric that united a bunch of colonies into one country.

Judge Hosack’s remarks were a welcome reminder for me and helped underscore the significance of what it means to be part of the legal profession. 

In my past Commissioner articles, I have written about the critical importance of an independent and impartial judiciary to our democracy and the functioning of our society. But shifting the focus somewhat and maybe even flipping the same coin to the other side – it is us, the members of the Bar who are an integral part of the Judicial Branch. As Judge Hosack put it, we are “the workforce” of the Judicial Branch. We are officers of the Court.

            As stated in the Preamble of the Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct,[i]

“A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.”

I.R.P.C., Preamble, ¶ 1. To carry out that charge, the Rules provide that lawyers should:

• Seek improvement of the law, access to the legal system, the administration of justice and the quality of legal services;
• Cultivate knowledge of the law to not only serve clients, but to reform the law and cultivate legal education;
• Further the public’s understanding and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend upon popular participation and support to maintain their authority;
• Devote professional time and resources and use civic influence to ensure equal access to our system of justice; and
• Aid the legal profession in pursuing these objectives and help the bar regulate itself.

Id., ¶ 6.

            There are myriad of ways that, as members of the Idaho State Bar, we can and should help advance our “special responsibilities” as lawyers. We can help promote the public’s understanding of the importance of the rule of law, the role of the judiciary in upholding the rule of law, and the importance of an independent and impartial judiciary. We can promote and support efforts to provide greater access to our legal system for those who are not able to afford legal assistance. We can volunteer on committees to help facilitate the administration of justice or run for judicial positions.

These activities are germane to the practice of law and critical to maintaining the high quality of our legal profession, and they are promoted in our Rules of Professional Conduct. They are particularly important today when there is a growing perception of distrust in the legal system and increased threats to attorneys and judges.[ii]

            In his closing remarks, Judge Hosack echoed this charge:

[I] submit that the human values that are the essential part of our professional responsibilities and ethical standards, and that have remained the same over the past 50 or more years, will become more important, not less. These duties and values of our profession will carry us forward, at least into the foreseeable future.  Hence the importance of today’s Supreme Court Memorial Service that reminds us all of what is truly important in our profession – the integrity and character of the attorney or judge, and their commitment to the values of the legal profession while serving the greater good of our community.

He further encouraged us to do as well as those who came before us, “as we strive to do better.”

Well said.