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Letter From the President
In honor of our Twentieth Anniversary, we have resolved to press forward in the cause of criminal defense lawyers in Pennsylvania by taking a look back and honoring the men and women who have brought us this far along the way. Reprinted herein is an excerpt from the letter that went out to call this great organization into being.
We start by expressing our thanks to all our board members over the years and applaud their service and support. However, we want to particularly highlight the great servants and lawyers who have lead this organization as president.
Our first president was Arthur T. Donato, Jr. You will also find Art's recollections of that foundational meeting in A Look Back. Art Donato is a founding member and pioneer of this organization and his love for this association is unprecedented.
In his first President's Message, Art delivered the following pearls of wisdom to the membership:
I think it is true that the system of criminal justice works mainly on a principal of balance. This principal of balance of justice is as old as any written history. Consider the following taken from Aristotle's POLITICS:
"Therefore he who bids the law rule may be deemed to bid God and reason alone rule, but he who bids man rule, adds an element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast, and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men. The law is reason unaffected by desire."
For too long now, many people, including politicians, the press, and members of the judiciary, have been reaching passionately for quick and simple solutions to the complex problem of crime. Such uncontemplative and visceral responses to social problems have had a devastating effect on the rights of individuals, the ability of the accused to receive a fair trial, and the reputation of those of us who have chosen as our professional endeavor the representation of citizens who find themselves in a dispute with their government. The war on crime has become a war on the Constitution and those who strive to uphold it.
This is Art Donato. We applaud him for his foresight, his commitment and his service.
Royce L. Morris.
President
