2000 Keynote Address - David Hall

Chasing the Justice Dream

by David Hall, Provost & Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs Northeastern University, Boston

IT IS A SPECIAL AND MEMORABLE HONOR TO BE ASKED TO DELIVER THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THIS GOLDMARK LUNCHEON. THE LEGAL FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON HAS A STELLAR REPUTATION IN THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMUNITY NATIONWIDE. THIS ORGANIZATION, AND MANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS YOU FUND ARE VIEWED AS PACESETTERS WHO ARE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO THE IDEALS THAT SO MANY LAWYERS AND JUDGES ACROSS THIS NATION HOLD DEAR. SO ON THIS 15^TH ANNIVERSARY I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND PERSEVERANCE, AND I BRING YOU GREETINGS FROM THE BOSTON COMMUNITY OF LEGAL SERVICE LAWYERS AND ACTIVISTS.

IT IS RISKY INVITING AN EX LAW PROFESSOR WHO HAS MOVED INTO FULL TIME ADMINISTRATION TO SPEAK TO YOU. MY LECTURING SKILLS ARE RUSTY AND I CAN’T FIND ANY OF MY OLD CLASS NOTES WHICH PROFESSORS LIKE TO USE IN A CRUNCH. BUT I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY NOT FROM THE THEORETICAL DOMAINS OF LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP, NOR FROM THE ANNALS OF RECENT CASE LAW. I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU FROM MY HEART, AND FROM A DEEP TRADITION AND STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE WHICH I HAVE WITNESSED AND SINCERELY EMBRACE. THEREFORE MY THEME FOR THIS HISTORIC LUNCHEON IS SIMPLY “CHASING THE JUSTICE DREAM.”

MANY OF YOU GATHERED HERE TODAY ARE THE CARETAKERS OF THIS DREAM CALLED JUSTICE. MOST OF YOU STRIVE DAILY TO ENSURE THAT THE POOR, THE DISABLED, THE MARGINALIZED OF THIS SOCIETY HAVE ACCESS TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM. YOU, LIKE ME, REALIZE THAT WITHOUT THIS ACCESS THE LEGITIMACY AND INTEGRITY OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND EVEN THE SOCIETY WOULD EVENTUALLY CRUMBLE. IT IS YOUR RELENTLESS CHASING OF THE DREAM OF JUSTICE THAT KEEPS THE FLAME OF HOPE ALIVE FOR SO MANY IN THIS STATE. YET, I SUBMIT TO YOU THAT THE JUSTICE DREAM WE ARE CHASING RUNS MUCH DEEPER THAN MERE ACCESS. IT GOES TO THE SOUL OF HOW PEOPLE EXIST, LIVE, PROSPER AND DIE IN THIS COUNTRY. SO I HOPE MY REMARKS PAY DUE RESPECT TO YOUR DREAM CHASING, BUT I ALSO HOPE THAT THEY WILL CHALLENGE AND INSPIRE US ALL TO EXPAND THE JUSTICE DREAM.

JUSTICE IS A CONCEPT THAT MOST OF US THINK WE UNDERSTAND BUT MANY OF US WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO PROVIDE A SINGLE DEFINITION. WHETHER DEFINED NARROWLY OR BROADLY WE MUST ALL ADMIT THAT IT IS AN ILLUSIVE CONCEPT THAT EXISTS MORE IN OUR MINDS AND DREAMS THAN IT DOES IN REALITY. THIS SACRED CONCEPT—JUSTICE—WAS ORIGINALLY OFFERED UP AT THE BIRTH OF THIS NATION AS ONE OF ITS MOST TREASURED IDEALS. YET THIS PRECIOUS MORAL AND LEGAL VALUE WAS STILLBORN IN THE WOMB OF THIS NATION, AND HAS REMAINED A FLEETING IDEA EVER SINCE THAT DAY.

JUSTICE IN AMERICA WAS DROWNED DEEP IN THE OCEAN OF CRUELTY BY EMBRACING THE SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY. IT WAS HIDDEN UNDER ROCKS IN THIS NATION AS SEGREGATION WAS ALLOWED TO STAND AS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. JUSTICE WAS PLACED IN DARK CLOSETS IN THIS NATION WHEN WOMEN WERE TREATED AS CHATTLE AND NOT AS FULLY INDEPENDENT HUMAN BEINGS. IF THE PRICE WAS RIGHT, IT OFTEN TOOK A BACK SEAT IN THE NAME OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS. AND IT TOTALLY DISAPPEARED FROM THE DREAMS OF SO MANY CHILDREN, WHEN THEY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WERE TRAPPED IN REAL NIGHTMARES OF SEXUAL ABUSE.

SO WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY, AND WORLD, WHERE JUSTICE HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT ON THE THRONE. IT HAS BEEN SO TWISTED AND NARROWED THROUGH COMPROMISES, AND THROUGH THE MANIPULATION OF LEGAL PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES, THAT WE DON’T EVEN RECOGNIZE IT ANYMORE. WE THINK WE HAVE ACHIEVED IT WHEN WE HAVE A PERSON’S WELFARE OR DISABILITY BENEFITS RESTORED, THOUGH IN OUR HEARTS WE KNOW THAT THAT PERSON WASN’T RECEIVING ENOUGH TO LIVE ON TO BEGIN WITH. WE THINK WE HAVE ACHIEVED IT WHEN WE GET AN INNOCENT PERSON ACQUITTED BECAUSE HE WAS THE VICTIM OF RACIAL PROFILING, YET THAT PERSON OFTEN RETURNS TO A COMMUNITY THAT IS SO UNDER-DEVELOPED AND UNDER-EDUCATED THAT THE CHANCES OF HIM BEING ARRESTED AGAIN GREATLY EXCEED HIS CHANCES OF STAYING FREE. WE BELIEVE WE HAVE ACHIEVED IT WHEN A DISABLED WOMAN WHO WAS DENIED REIMBURSEMENT FOR A WHEELCHAIR FINALLY RECEIVES IT. YET, WE KNOW THAT THE DISABLED IN THIS COUNTRY DAILY FACE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE BARRIERS THAT KEEP THEM FROM LIVING FULL LIVES. AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD PREFER THAT THEY WEREN’T AROUND. SO, OUR JUSTICE DREAM ESCAPES OUR GRASP AS QUICKLY AS WE TOUCH IT.

SOME MIGHT ARGUE THAT MY UNDERSTANDING OF JUSTICE IS TOO BROAD. FOR SOME OF US SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT JUSTICE CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD AND APPLIED IN THE CONTEXT OF INDIVIDUAL CASES THAT INCLUDE A VICTIM AND AN EVIL WRONGDOER. BUT IN A SOCIETY SUCH AS OURS, THAT HAS A HISTORY OF ENDORSING AND ENABLING SO MUCH SYSTEMATIC INJUSTICE, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO BE TRAPPED BY SUCH A LIMITED VISION OF JUSTICE. FOR WOVEN WITHIN THE LINING OF THIS JUSTICE DREAM IS A CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THE PLAYING FIELDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEVEL, AND THE UNDERLYING SOCIAL SETTING MUST BE FAIR. YET FOR THE PEOPLE THAT SO MANY OF YOU SERVE AND JUDGE EVERYDAY THESE FUNDAMENTAL PRE-REQUISITES ARE MISSING.

WE MUST NOT SEE JUSTICE AS A FIXED FORMULA THAT IS EASILY APPLIED, BUT AS A SACRED PRINCIPLE THAT IS ALWAYS CONTEXTUAL AND EXCRUCIATINGLY DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN. IT MUST DO JUSTICE TO THE PERSON BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT WE MUST SEE AND UNDERSTAND THE SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS SURROUNDING THAT PERSON. FOR WITHOUT THIS BROAD LENSE, WE WILL NOT DISPENSE JUSTICE, WE WILL ONLY PLACATE SUFFERING, AND COVER OVER DEEP SOCIAL WOUNDS.

AS LAWYERS, JUDGES AND ACTIVISTS, WE MUST BE COURAGEOUS ENOUGH IN THIS NEW CENTURY TO DEFINE JUSTICE IN BROAD TERMS. WHEN PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THEIR BIRTH, NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR EFFORT, ARE DOOMED TO RECEIVE FEWER CHANCES AT THE BRASS RING OF LIFE, THEN JUSTICE IS STILL A DISTANT DREAM NEVER TO BE A REALITY. WHEN THE INFANT MORTALITY RATE FOR SOME IS SO MUCH GREATER THAN OTHERS MERELY BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AT BIRTH, THEN JUSTICE IS A COMPLETE ILLUSION. WHEN WOMEN ARE ABUSED BECAUSE OF THEIR GENDER AND MEN’S UNWILLINGNESS TO CONTROL OURSELVES, THEN JUSTICE REMAINS A FADING DREAM, EVEN THOUGH A RESTRAINING ORDER IS ISSUED AND IMPRISONMENT FOLLOWS. FOR THERE REMAINS A WOMAN WHO IS STILL NOT WHOLE. A DEEP PSYCHIC WOUND HAS BEEN INFLICTED NOT ONLY UPON HER BUT UPON THE IDEAL FABRIC OF OUR HUMAN RELATIONS. NO RESTRAINING ORDER HEALS THOSE WOUNDS. THE JUSTICE DREAM WE CHASE IS NOT A NARROW FULFILLMENT OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. IT ENCOMPASSES THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH PEOPLE EXIST, AND TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR BEING. IT RESTS ON THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL MESSAGES WE SEND THROUGH OUR INSTITUTIONS AND OUR INDIVIDUAL LIVES. JUSTICE IS NOT AN ACT; IT IS NOT ONE CONCRETE THING WHICH WE ACHIEVE AND THEN FORGET. JUSTICE IS AN IDEAL, A LEGAL, SPIRITUAL VALUE WHICH WE MUST CONTINUOUSLY RELEASE INTO THE UNIVERSE, AND RELENTLESSLY PURSUE.

THEREFORE OUR GREATEST HOPE FOR JUSTICE IS TO STOP INJUSTICE FROM BEING REBORN IN EVERY GENERATION. OUR GREATEST HOPE FOR JUSTICE IS TO ENSURE THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS DO NOT FALL INTO THE SAME PATTERNS OF THE PAST. THE INJURY INFLICTED FROM INJUSTICE LEAVES SUCH DAMAGING STAINS THAT MONETARY REWARD DOESN’T CAPTURE THE HURT, DOESN’T HEAL THE PSYCHIC PAIN, OR UNLEASH THE PENT UP FRUSTRATION. THE DREAM OF JUSTICE MUST COMPEL US TO EMPOWER THE PEOPLE WE SERVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE DESTINY OF THEIR LIVES AND COMMUNITY—ECONOMICALLY, EDUCATIONALLY AND OTHERWISE. OUR GREATEST CHANCE AT CATCHING THIS JUSTICE DREAM IS TO TRANSFORM OUR INSTITUTIONS AND OURSELVES. IF NOT, THEN OUR CHASING WILL ONLY LEAD US IN CIRCLES.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF JUSTICE MAY APPEAR DAUNTING FOR SOME BECAUSE IT APPEARS TO BE SO ENCOMPASSING THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN. SO YOU MAY ASK, IF JUSTICE IS THIS DREAM THAT WE WILL NEVER ACTUALLY REALIZE, THEN WHY SHOULD WE PURSUE AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM.

BUT WE BELIEVE IN AND PURSUE THE DREAM BECAUSE IT IS THE BELIEVING AND THE CHASING THAT GIVES THE DREAM CONCRETE MEANING. IT IS THE STRETCHING AND STRIVING THAT ALLOWS US TO TRANSFORM THE SOCIETY FROM WHAT IT IS TO A PLACE CLOSER TO WHAT IT SHOULD BE. THOUGH I REALIZE THAT WE MAY NEVER ELIMINATE HOMELESSNESS, HATRED AND POVERTY FROM OUR MIDST, WE MUST REMAIN COMMITTED TO THAT END. FOR AS SOON AS WE ACCEPT THEIR ELIMINATION AS UNOBTAINABLE GOALS, THEN WE RECONCILE OURSELVES TO THE STATUS QUO, AND WE NEEDLESSLY WRITE OFF PEOPLE AND LOCK IN UNFAIR INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES. BUT AS LONG AS THE IDEAL OF JUSTICE REMAINS PART OF OUR STRIVING, IT REMAINS PART OF WHO WE ARE AS HUMAN BEINGS.

IT IS THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE THAT GIVES MEANING AND LEGITIMACY TO NOT ONLY THIS LEGAL SYSTEM, BUT TO OUR LIVES. IT IS THE CHASE THAT MAKES US BETTER PEOPLE. CHASING THE JUSTICE DREAM IS SPIRITUAL MEDICINE FOR LAWYERS AND JUDGES. IT IS OUR BALM IN GILEAD TO HEAL THE SIN SICK SOUL. IT IS OUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO THE IDEAL, EVEN WHEN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES POINT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION THAT SEPARATES THE DREAMER FROM THE CYNIC.

LANSTON HUGHES, A GREAT AMERICAN POET, WROTE A POEM ENTITLED ‘A DREAM DEFERRED.’ HE ASKED THE QUESTION, “WHAT HAPPENS TO A DREAM DEFERRED. DOES IT DRY UP LIKE A RAISIN IN THE SUN? DOES IT FESTER LIKE A SORE AND THEN RUN. MAYBE IT JUST SAGS LIKE A HEAVY LOAD OR MAYBE IT EXPLODES.”

THIS POEM ELOQUENTLY REMINDS US OF THE CONSEQUENCES WE CREATE FOR DELAYING OUR DREAMS AND THE DREAMS OF OTHERS. TO PASS ON TO ANOTHER GENERATION THE FULFILLMENT OF A FUNDAMENTAL IDEAL IS TO PLANT SEEDS WITHIN THE SOIL OF A NATION THAT WILL BARE STRANGE FRUITS. SO MUCH OF THE CRIME, DRUG ABUSE, AND MISEDUCATION THAT EXISTS IN THIS SOCIETY IS A DIRECT OUTGROWTH OF THE DEFERRAL OF THE JUSTICE DREAM. MANY WILL NOT AGREE BUT WE ARE HARVESTING THE EVILS OF SLAVERY AND CENTURIES OF DISCRIMINATION STILL TODAY, AND THE HARVEST IS PLENTEOUS, BUT THE DREAMERS ARE FEW.

WE WHO STAND ON THE APEX OF A NEW CENTURY HAVE THE CHOICE TO DEFER AGAIN THIS JUSTICE DREAM BY NARROWING IT. WE CAN WASH OUR HANDS OF THE UNDERLYING INEQUALITY AND POVERTY BY INDIVIDUALIZING OUR CHASE. BUT OUR INDIVIDUAL VICTORIES WILL BE STUNTED BY THE OVERWHELMING SOCIAL CONDITIONS THAT MUST STILL BE RECTIFIED.

AS AN EDUCATOR IT PAINS ME TO SEE THE INJUSTICE THAT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM PERPETUATES THROUGH OUR COLLECTIVE FAILURE TO CHASE THE JUSTICE DREAM. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TRIP OVER EACH OTHER FOR THE BEST-EDUCATED STUDENTS. OUR STANDING AND NATIONAL RANKING TURNS SO MUCH ON OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT THESE GIFTED STUDENTS. A CLOSER EXAMINATION REVEALS THAT THESE STUDENTS ARE AS MUCH PRIVILEGED AS THEY ARE GIFTED. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN ONE’S PREPAREDNESS AND WILLINGNESS TO PURSUE DEGREES OF HIGHER LEARNING. THOUGH MANY INSTITUTIONS HAVE EDUCATIONAL ACCESS MISSIONS, MANY OF THEM HAVE FORSAKEN THE FUNDAMENTAL MORAL COMMAND TO EDUCATE ALL WHO ARE IN NEED. SO WE LAYER ON TOP OF CENTURIES OF EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES MORE DISPARITIES. WE HELP CREATE AN UNDERCLASS THAT WILL FILL OUR JAILS, STREETS, SOUP LINES AND MENTAL INSTITUTIONS. FOR MANY OF THESE STUDENTS WERE BORN INTO CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS THAT CREATED ENORMOUS BARRIERS FOR THEM TO OVERCOME. SOME DO, BUT SO MANY DON’T. AS EDUCATORS, WE MUST PURSUE A JUSTICE DREAM THAT COMPELS US TO ENSURE THAT EDUCATION IS AVAILABLE TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO SUCCEED, EVEN THOUGH THEY AREN’T THE MOST PRIVILEGED AND THEIR TALENTS AND GIFTS MAY BE HIDDEN.

DESPITE CENTURIES OF INJUSTICE THAT STARE ME IN THE FACE, WHAT MAKES ME PROUD TO BE A LAWYER IS THAT I HAVE SEEN SO MANY LAWYERS WHO NOT ONLY DEEPLY BELIEVE IN THE JUSTICE DREAM, BUT WHO CHASE IT DAILY, AGAINST ALL ODDS. BEING DEAN OF NORTHEASTERN LAW SCHOOL WAS SO MORALLY FULFILLING BECAUSE I SAW SO MANY STUDENTS COME TO THE INSTITUTION CHASING JUSTICE DREAMS. I WITNESSED THEM NURTURING THOSE IDEALS FOR THREE YEARS. I SAW SOME OF THEM TURN DOWN LUCRATIVE OFFERS TO PURSUE THOSE IDEALS. I SAW OUR ALUMNI, 15-20 YEARS IN PRACTICE, STILL WITH A GLEAM IN THEIR EYES FOR JUSTICE, AND FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE. SO DESPITE HOW DIFFICULT AND DAUNTING THE CHALLENGE MIGHT BE, WE PRODUCE MORE JUSTICE DREAMERS EVERY DAY.

IN CONCLUSION:

THOSE OF YOU GATHERED HERE ARE THE CHASERS OF THE JUSTICE DREAM. YOUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESS HAS PLACED YOU AT THE CENTER OF THIS PROFESSION’S QUEST FOR THE DREAM OF JUSTICE. I REALIZE THAT YOU FACE ENORMOUS BARRIERS AND OBSTACLES. THERE IS LIMITED FUNDING, AND FEDERAL RESTRICTIONS THAT LIMIT WHAT YOU CAN DO AND HOW YOU DO IT. THERE ARE PERSONAL DEBTS YOU CARRY, PERSONAL SACRIFICES THAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO MAKE EACH DAY. BUT YOU DO THIS BECAUSE YOU ARE A DREAMER. YOU UNDERSTAND INTUITIVELY THAT WITHOUT THE DREAM, THERE IS VERY LITTLE REASON TO LIVE. WITHOUT THE CHASE, THE DREAM CONTINUES TO FEEL SO FAR AWAY. IN YOUR MOMENTS OF DOUBT, WHEN YOU WONDER WHETHER IT IS ALL WORTH IT, REMEMBER THAT YOU FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GREAT DREAMERS. YOU ARE A DREAMER LIKE MARTIN AND HARRIETT TUBMAN; A MODERN DAY DREAMER LIKE CHARLES GOLDMARK. YOU ARE A DREAMER LIKE ALL OF THOSE BRAVE SOULS WHO LEFT THE COMFORT OF THEIR NORTHERN HOMES AND WENT SOUTH TO HELP THOSE WHO INJUSTICE HAD TRAPPED AND LYNCHED. YOU WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MIGRANT WORKERS WHO DREAMED OF A BETTER LIFE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES, DESPITE THE INDIGNITIES THAT THEY CONFRONTED EACH DAY.

ONE DAY WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT NOT OF THE DIFFICULTY OF OUR CHASE, BUT WHETHER WE CONTINUED TO CHASE THE DREAM. FOR IF YOU STOP CHASING THIS DREAM OF JUSTICE, THEN THIS CITY AND STATE WILL NEVER BE THE TYPE OF PLACE IT COULD AND SHOULD BE. THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS CITY AND STATE WHO WILL SUFFER GREATLY IF YOU STOP CHASING THE DREAM. THEY NEED YOU MORE DESPERATELY THAN YOU WILL EVER UNDERSTAND. AND YOU NEED THEM MORE THAN YOU PRESENTLY REALIZE. FOR IT IS THIS WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN TWO DREAMERS THAT GIVES COLOR AND MEANING TO A DULL WORLD. SO, WE COME TODAY TO LIFT HIGH THIS DREAM THAT YOU WITH THEM PURSUE. BUT LET NOT OUR LIFTING OCCUR ONLY TODAY IN THE MIDST OF THOSE WE KNOW AND LIKE. LET THIS BROAD DREAM OF JUSTICE BE LIFTED AS WE SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, AND AS WE CONFRONT INJUSTICE EVERYDAY.

CHASE THIS JUSTICE DREAM MY FRIEND. CHASE IT WITH YOUR HEAD AND WITH YOUR HEART. CHASE IT AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED UPON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES. FOR OUR LIVES WILL BE ULTIMATELY MEASURED BY THE GOOD WE DO IN THE WORLD AND BY THE LOVE AND SERVICE THAT WE GIVE, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE IN NEED. CHASE THIS DREAM NOT ONLY IN YOUR COURTROOMS AND LAW OFFICES, BUT CHASE IT IN EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE, IN EVERY WAKING HOUR. CHASE IT EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS. IF WE DO THAT THEN WHEN WE WAKE, WE WILL HAVE BECOME A DREAM CATCHER.

February 25, 2000