John W. Adkins
Open letter to the San Diego Public Law Library chief administrator:
Dear Mr. John Adkins, Director:
I strongly urge you to bring back the introductory legal classes for members of the public that were offered before the recent re-purposing of the San Diego Public Law Library.
Previously there were many classes giving an overview of the legal system and teaching citizens how to conduct lawsuits and appeal decisions.
A few years ago I took those classes, making it possible for me to defend my constitutional rights against a large law firm that wanted to shut down my public interest website. I won in the Court of Appeal in 2011, and I recently filed another appeal. [Here's the Leagle web page with the earlier decision.]
I suspect that the legal establishment in San Diego wants to limit poor litigants to those few who have been chosen for pro-bono representation because they allow business as usual to proceed in the legal community. Certainly the legal clinics offered by USD law students do not fill the void created by the canceled classes. It seems that local lawyers (and judges) want to make sure that people like me (who critique the local justice system) are prevented from protecting themselves in state and federal courts.
It appears that the the San Diego Bar Association has influenced the Public Law Library to help in this goal.
It is improper to sabotage and undermine the longstanding purpose of the Public Law Library. Please return the library to its former purpose of educating the public as well as educating attorneys.
Sincerely,
Maura Larkins
[Note: I sent a message to your staff using the "Request a class" page of the Public Law Library website on Nov. 27, 2013. I received no response. ]
See SDER web page on the San Diego County Public Law Library
See also: The profession's in crisis, but law schools don't care. They're steeped in a toxic, hyper-capitalist worldview
