Speaker notes
role of judiciary
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 26, 1988 - Page 3
Reagan OKs
sp ot for Vets.
BY JONATHAN SOBEL
One of the least visible but most
enduring Presidential powers is the
appointment of federal judges who
will serve for life and rule on issues
ranging from the death penalty to
affirmative action.
Yesterday, in an address at the
lawyer's club, Michigan Supreme
Court Justice Dennis Archer urged
students to consider this power and
vote.
s President Reagan has appointed
325 federal judges, over half of the
federal bench. Of these, six are Black
and a roughly equal number His-
panic, said Archer, the second Black
Supreme Court Justice in Michi-
gan' s history.
ARCHER, who has served on
the bench since 1985, is prohibited
by law from endorsing candidates or
parties. But on other issues -
barriers to Blacks and women in the
legal profession, low turnout for
state judge elections, and the impor-
tance of political participation -
Archer made his feelings clear.
"A lot of times, the lack of mi-
nority presence in law is not out of
ill will, it's out of a feeling of 'Let's
do it the way we've always done it.'
That's going to change," said
Archer.
As one example, he described
progress with an American Bar As-
sociation program he helped develop
that encourages corporations and
minority law firms to do business
together.
"It's going to be great to have
equal opportunity - not set-asides,
not affirmative action, but quality,"
he said.
MICHIGAN VOTERS will
be electing state circuit, appellate
and Supreme Court justices Nov. 8.
Archer pointed out that because
judges run on a nonpartisan ballot
physically separate from the rest of
the ballot, 40 to 60 percent of those
who vote for Presidential candidates
don't vote for state judges.
"Yet those of us who are mem-
bers of the judiciary affect your daily
lives," he said. Michigan courts
handled over 3.3 million cases in
1987 alone, although many were
merely traffic cases.
Archer spoke to a group of about
30, most of whom were law stu-
dents. To them he said, "Part of be-
ing involved in the profession is
giving something back. Someday in
life, I assure you, you are going to
ask someone for help, because
you're going to need it. When you
ask, just make sure you're not
bankrupt in what you've done for
others."
SMILING at Reginald Turner, a
recent Law School graduate sitting
in the back of the room, Archer al-
luded to other rewards in public ser-
vice. "Part of the reason I'm on the
Supreme Court is that some of you
helped me. Reg helped me., Reg put
up posters. Reg didn't even know
me. Now Reg is my clerk."
s
in Cal
WASHINGTON (AP) - Saying
America's debt to military men and
women does not end "the day the
uniform comes off," President Rea-
gan signed legislation yesterday giv-
ing veterans a Cabinet-level voice for
the first time, effective March 15.
"I'm saying to all our veterans
what I say to new Cabinet members:
Welcome aboard!" said Reagan, the
self-proclaimed enemy of an expand-
ing federal government, who once
suggested abolishing the departments
of Education and Energy.
Spokespersons for veterans orga-
nizations applauded the elevation of
veterans' issues in the councils of
government, but noted that the
legislation offers no increases in
compensation or improvements in
health care.
Supporters of the legislation had
)lnet
argued that the Veterans Administra-
tion already has the fifth-largest
budget among federal agencies and
merits being put on par with other
Cabinet departments.
There are some 27 million veter-
ans and 49 million dependents or
survivors, although only about 2.5
to 3 million of them rely on Veter-
ans Administration services on a
regular basis. The agency has a $30
billion budget, and it will disburse
$14 billion in income maintenance
and $626 million for education and
rehabilitation assistance this year.
The House and Senate, paying
election-year homage to veterans, had
both given overwhelming approval
to the bill. Among other things, it
will place a secretary and as many as
a half-dozen assistant secretaries.
Bullard, foes
debate at EMU
ALEXANDKA BEZ/DOiy
M ichigan Supreme Court Justice Dennis Archer speaks before
a Lawyers' Club audience on the impact the next president
will have on the country through the appointment of judges
to the federal bench.
City drops shanty vandalism case
BY JONATHAN SCOTT
Charges were dismissed yesterday against an
Ann Arbor man accussed of vandalizing a Diag
shanty in August because the sole witness failed
to appear at the trial.
The witness, state security officer Steve
Smarsh, called in sick for the past two days and
could not be reached the day of the trial by Ann
Arbor police detective Douglas Barbour.
The charge against Ann Arbor resident Henry
Humphrey had been a misdemeanor of malicious
destruction of property.
The police report does not specify which
shanty Humphrey damaged, although Humphrey
said, outside of the courthouse, that he attacked
the Palestinian shanty.
But the actual damage was done to the Free
South African Coordinating Committee shanty,
Barbour said. "What (Humphrey) says and what
Sole witness absent
for court hearing
actually happened are two totally different
things."
"I was pulling a board off the Palestinian
shanty," Humphrey said, "not the South African
one. I don't have anything against (the South
African shanties)."
But Pam Nadesen, representing FSACC at the
trial, refuted Humphrey's claim, maintaining that
the official police report indicates the Palestinian
shanty was unharmed.
Nevertheless UCAR will not receive judicial
reparations for the damages.
"We have had problems with the prosecutor's
office in the past." UCAR member Barbara
Ransby said. "We're outraged that they haven't
taken the attacks seriously. (Abusing a shanty) is
an act of violence against one of the few anti-
racist symbols on campus."
"It seems hardly a basis to dismiss a case
against someone who willfully attacked" personal
property, Ransby said.
In the police report, Humphrey said he
"sprinted away" as soon as Smarsh saw him be-
cause he didn't want to get blamed for damaging
the other shanties. He added that the FSACC
shanties had been "completely destroyed" before
he began attacking the Palestinian shanty.
According to the police report, Humphrey said
after his arrest that he is a Christian and that he
"lives with a rabbi," adding that he is tired of the
oppression of Jews.
BY DARCI MCCONNELL
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
YPSILANTI - Education, toxic
waste, and medicaid-funded abortions
were the primary topics of concern
last night in a local candidates forum
held at Eastern Michigan University
last night.
Although the candidates all agreed
in their opposition to a proposal to
end tax-funded abortions, they ex-
pressed somewhat different opinions
on the rest of the issues.
Incumbent State Rep. Perry
Bullard (D-Ann Arbor) and his chal-
lengers, Republican Richard Birkett
and Workers Against Concessions
Party candidate Scptt Jones re-
sponded to questions posed by the
audience, and by the Ann Arbor
League of Women Voters, who co-
sponsored the forum with WEMU
radio.
Bullard proposed an educational
system for the United States similar
to one in Scandinavia, where tuition
is fully paid by the government and
is free to students. "It would work
here, if we could get a political
commitment to do this," he said.
Birkett said he has no plans to
increase or decrease the education
budget and Jones, whose primary
message was that corporations -
not the workers - should pay the
bulk of governmental expenditures,
stated that "if the money comes from
people who can afford it, I would be
for an increase in funding for educa-
tion."
On the issue of a tax increase,
both Jones and Birkett expressed
support for a change in the tax sys-
tem but not an increase in taxes.
Bullard expressed the need for addi-
tional tax revenue to revive poorly
funded health care and education pro-
grams. Birkett favors a taxpayer "bill
of rights" which would shift the
burden from the taxpayer to the
government.
Toxic waste dumping and cleanup
were key concerns of the audience.
When Jones said "I think we should
dump toxic waste in the backyards of
the people that created it and let
them deal with it," he elicited the
only applause for any of the three
candidates.
. In his conclusion, Bullard stressed
the need for more economic devel-
opment in the United States and said
Michael Dukakis is the person to do
this.
Candidates Republican Rep.
Margaret O'Conner and challenger
Mary Schroer who are vying for the
52nd District also addressed the is-
sues, as well as Democrat candidate
Kirk Profit , Republican candidate
Richard Reed and Libertarian David
Hunt for the 22nd District.
-,
THE
LIST
Anti-abortionist
assails Governor
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Speakers
"Bloanalytical Chemistry: Us-
ing Chemistry and
Photochemistry to Increase
Selectivity" - Prof. Stephen We-
ber, University of Pittsburgh, 1200
Chem. Bldg., 4 pm.
."Asymmetric Synthesis via
Carbanions" - Prof. Patrick G.
McDougal, Georgia Institute of Tech-
nology, 1300 Chem. Bldg., 4 pm.
"Political Repression In the
US: The Puerto Rico-Hartford
15 Case" - Elias Castro, Rackham,
E. Conference, 7:30 pm. Puerto Rican
Solidarity Association.
"Variation in Vital Rates By
. Age, Period, and Cohort" -
John R. Wilmoth, U of M, Popula-
tion Studies Center, 451 Mason Hall,
4 pm. Coffee served at 3:30 pm.
"Recent Research and Advances
of Type I Diabetes" - Dr. Neil
White of the Diabetes Pediatric Clinic
at U of M, O'Brien's of Brighton
(8180 W. Grand River, Brighton),
7:30 pm. Free admission.
"Restructuring and Openness
in Soviet TV" - Yury Polsky,
Ph.D. candidate, U of M, Dept. of
Poli Sci., Center for Russian and East
European Studies, Lane Hall Com-
mons Rm., 12 noon.
Meetings
International Student Affairs
Committee - International Center,
7:30 pm. Part of MSA. All are wel-
come.
U of M Asian Student Coali-
tion (UMASC) - 2439 Mason
Hall, 7 pm.
Food Disorder Support Group
- Michigan League, Conference Rm.
4, 6 pm. Confidential.
Outing Club Meeting - 2413
Mason Hall, 6 pm. Planning cabin
trip.
U of M Taekwondo Club -
2275 CCRB, 6:30 pm. Tim Frye @
662-8637 for more info.
CFIv i A t
Inc. - 2050 Frieze Bldg., 4:10 pm.
Guest speaker, June Kirchgatter from
Harris Advertising.
B'nai B'rith Hillel Mitzvah
Project - 219 Angell Hall, 6;30
pm. Biweekly meeting.
Furthermore
Discussion of the Fundamental
Principles of Objectivism -.
Crofoot Rm., Michigan Union, 7:30
pm. Sponsored by U of M Students
of Objectivism. Free admission.
Study Abroad Workshop - In-
ternational Center, 4-5 pm.
Pre-Interviews - Caterpillar In-
dustrial, Inc., location to be an-
nounced, 5:15-7:15 pm.
Star Trax - Performing at Moun-
tain Jacks, 8:30-12:30 pm. You can
add your voice to the background of
over 400 songs for free.
University Lutheran Chapel -
"Holden Village Vespers", 9 pm.,
1511 Washtenaw Ave.
Mako - Film/Discussion Series,
Mason Hall, Rm. 447, 4-6 pm. Ex-
cursion into Asian stereotypes as seen
on TV and films.
Breaking the Silence: Rape and
People with Physical
Disabilities - A short film and
discussion, Michigan Rm., Michigan
League, 12 noon. Open to the public.
Concerned Faculty Brown Bag
Lunch - Discuss political issues,
Guild House, 12noon.
Beans and Rice - Presented by
AMISTAD. Food and discussion on
Central American issues. $2 charge.
Guild House, 6 pm.
"The Course" - Planning and dis-
cussion for Concerned Faculty and
others interested in anti-racism course.
Guild House, 8 pm.
Career Planning and Placement
Center - Dr. Margaret Steward,
University of California, looking for
junior faculty members in the sci-
ences, agriculture, and engineering.
October 25-27, call for more info.
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gov. James Blanchard has turned
members of his administration into
political puppets on behalf of the
effort to preserve state funding for
poor women's abortions, anti-abor-
tion leader Barbara Listing claimed
yesterday.
A spokesperson for the governor
said Blanchardsand other officials
were speaking out on a crucial public
issue.
"We know they want to take away
freedom of choice in this state and it
sounds like they want to deny free-
dom of speech, too," said Tom Scott,
Blanchard's press secretary.
Listing's blast at Blanchard came
in response to a news conference the
governor held with two of his
predecessors Monday at which they
labeled the proposed abortion banas
extreme because it doesn't make
exceptions for women who become
pregnant as a result of rape or incest.
Listing pointed to statements by
C. Patrick Babcock, director of the
Department of Social Services, and
Treasurer Robert Bowman that eli-
minating state-paid abortions for
poor women would drive up welfare
costs, perhaps as much as $200
million over the next five years.
"Governor Blanchard and other
members of his administration are
speaking out an a public issue of
great importance to our state," said
Scott. "That's what leaders do.
There's nothing inappropriate at all."
In the Presidential race, aides to
Dukakis were spreading the word that
his recent Populist-style rhetoric and
allegations of Republican campaign
lies were scoring points with voters.
One aide said the campaign's own
polls showed the national gap nar-
rowing, and spokesperson Dayton
Duncan added, "Our polling shows
by an overwhelming margin that
people are blaming Bush for this
negative campaign."
Bush said Dukakis had been
making "increasing appeals to class
conflict," and said that in his view
there was "no place in American life
for philosophies that divide Ameri-
cans one from another along class
lines and that excite conflict among
them."
HEALTH &LFITNESS
JUST A SHORT WALK
FROM CENTRAL CAMPUS
. i.#
"'
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Nautilus " Raquetball co
Two Pools " Dance studios
Gymnasium " Excercise bikes
CONVENIENT MONTHI
OPEN 7 DAYS
A WEEK!
rts " Free Weights
" Fitness Testing
" Qualified instructors
LY MEMBERSHIPS-
71
350 S. Fifth Ave.
663-0536
Alk
MSA postpones
political debat(
BY MICHAEL LUSTIG nizers hit a further pro
The Michigan Student Assembly Bush planned visits to MV
last night postponed a debate sched- day and tomorrow, me
uled for tonight between representa- possible debaters would r
tives of the two presidential candi- with the visit.
blem when
lichigan to-
eaning that
be occupied
Lnn]-" when
WHAT'S
( HAPPENING
RECREATIONAL SPORTS
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS
MAIN OFFICES: CCRB 763-3084
I