The comic strip character Pogo from 50 years ago had it right. “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Our own ego and self-interest are defeating us.
Ego is crippling. We think we know more than experts and can disregard their guidance. Former law school professor James McElhaney cautioned attorneys about letting ego—Mongo, as he called it—taking over, but his admonition applies to everyone.
Mongo is the inner ...
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My law partner, John Gonzales (“Gonzo”), and I (Jack D’Aurora) have been producing a podcast for about two years. We’ve changed our image—our marketing folks call this “rebranding”— from “Lawyer Up Columbus” to “JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo” to better reflect what our show is all about—social justice.
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Ohio State University Associate Professor Joni Acuff talks with us about what critical race theory actually is—as opposed to how it’s described by its critics—and gives examples of racial inequality being imbedded in society. The three of us discuss legislative efforts to ban critical race theory. Legislators say they want students to be presented with the facts ...
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Join me in fighting human trafficking, right in here Columbus, Ohio. Make a donation to Sanctuary Night, a sacred space created for women who are caught in cycles of prostitution. Sanctuary Nights has purchased an old house and is in the process of renovating it, so that women who have not yet been able to break away will have a 24/7 ...
This op-ed is for all the Democrats who criticized the 191 Republican representatives who did not vote to impeach Donald Trump and the 43 Republican senators who did not vote guilty. It’s easy, even justified, to say they acted cowardly and disregarded the plain facts, but we have since witnessed the wrath of the Republican Party.
For the 10 representatives and 7 senators who voted to hold Trump accountable, their state party organizations have either censured them or are planning ...
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It’s time for the nation to heal and come together, President Joe Biden tells us. We know from his inaugural address what we must avoid—”anger, resentment, hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness, hopelessness.”
And we’ve been told what we’re capable of doing—”We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome this deadly virus. We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care ...
Continue Reading →Let’s admit it. Like it or not, state judges are politicians, and their party affiliation should be shown on general ballots, just like it is for every other politician.
Party affiliation is not disclosed on judicial ballots because we like the fiction that judicial races are nonpartisan and, perhaps we’re even a little enamored of the idea that judges are above the political fray. It’s a quaint notion that doesn’t reflect today’s reality.
We just saw bare-knuckled attack ads in two races. Appellate ...
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Attorney John Fitch has taken on the cases of two women who were raped. One was 15 years old when raped, and the other was 11. The juries awarded $3.5 million and $20 million, respectively, in the two cases for the trauma these women suffered and still suffer.
But state law caps the damages a plaintiff can recover in a personal injury action, and the ...
Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) talks about how the movement to repeal HB 6 has slowed to virtual stand still. What’s the problem? In large part, gerrymandering and dark money. Listen to the conversation.
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Lawyer ...
Continue Reading →In the 2016 presidential election, roughly 100 million eligible voters — not untypical — did not vote. Who are these people, and why don’t they vote?
Pew Research concluded in 2006 that Americans who either vote rarely or aren’t registered to vote are much more likely than regular or intermittent voters to believe that voting doesn’t change things. Plus, those who rarely vote or aren’t registered say they are sometimes either too busy to vote and find it too difficult to ...
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