One of the reasons I have always been so proud to be a member of the legal profession is because of the way lawyers and courts resolve disputes. The rules of procedure and evidence are designed to ensure fairness, consistency and a logical approach to analyzing problems. With occasional exceptions, name-calling, personal invective and the kind of toxic exchanges that characterize the political process are absent and frowned upon.
The legal profession — including the judiciary — rightly places a high value on respectful dialogue in large part because it contributes to the reasoned decision-making that characterizes the process. Lawyers, and judges, can and should be role models for society at large when it comes to the logical, thoughtful and intelligent interchange of ideas.
