There’s No Background Music—But Listen
By Michael J. Ford

Almost 40 years ago, I was lying down with my infantry platoon1 sergeant in the rain on a ridgeline during training maneuvers, complaining about how wet, tired and miserable we all were. I made the comment then that service in the infantry was not what I thought it was going to be.

My always laconic and grizzled veteran of a platoon sergeant replied, “Lieutenant, the problem with real life is there ain’t no background music.”

I’ve had occasion to consider that remark a number of times over the years.

I recalled my platoon sergeant’s observation during the movie “Erin Brokovich.”  You presumably remember the scene where Ms. Brokovich comes into the office of attorney Ed Masry to request permission to follow up on a pro bono real estate case, which appeared to involve personal injury records.  Ed, somewhat distractedly, gave the go-ahead without any real idea of what he, and his law firm, were about to get into.

I also recalled the comment during the movie, “The Verdict,” with Paul Newman. I doubt that there is an attorney reading this who doesn’t recall the scene where attorney Frank Galvin is advised by his paralegal, played by Jack Warden, to forget about the case and that there will be other cases.  How often when faced with similar frustrations have we said, as Paul Newman did, “No, this is the case, this is the only case.

And of course, it was.

Well, the problem for all of us is that in real life, “there ain’t no background music”—no foretaste of what lies ahead.

But, on occasion, if you slow down and listen very carefully, you can sometimes hear the background music when life-altering events are about to take place.

This is one of those times.

A Perfect Storm

A combination of increasing caseloads across the board and a declining state economic situation is creating a perfect storm of pressure on the legal system in Minnesota.

Public defenders in Minnesota have had to lay off staff and to withdraw from the representation of Children in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS) cases and from the representation of indigent parents in Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) matters.  This will, necessarily, lead to delays in both CHIPS and TPR cases. In addition, it is anticipated that reduced staffing levels for public defender offices throughout the state will lead to delays in handling of all criminal cases.

Organizations charged with delivering legal services to the indigent are struggling with chronic under-funding coupled with a rising caseload as financial misery spreads across the state and the nation.

Courts in Minnesota have implemented cost-saving measures that include closing public access to courthouses for parts of the day due to staff cuts.  Those staff cuts are only going to get worse without adequate funding.  This is particularly true for innovative efforts including specialty courts such as drug court, which may be scaled back or eliminated as the judiciary struggles to deal with increasing caseloads and the consequences of our weakening economy.

City and county prosecutors are facing reduced funding as the cities and counties that support their operations receive less local-government aid from the state.

Given the interdependence of the civil, criminal and family courts in this state, these delays in the criminal calendar will necessarily adversely effect the calendars for family law and civil cases.

Get involved.  Write letters to the editor.  Contact your elected representatives.  Urge members of your communities to support adequate funding for the legal system. 

The music is playing.  We all need to hear it.

Notes
1 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Divison.

MICHAEL J. FORD is president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. A shareholder in the law firm of Quinlivan & Hughes, PA, St. Cloud, Minnesota, he is a graduate of St. John’s University and received his JD from the William Mitchell College of Law. He concentrates his practice in the areas of civil litigation, insurance coverage, employment and government liability, and land use and general casualty law.