We approach the first holiday where our country is feeling the positive effects of the vaccine. With over 40% of the county vaccinated the number of new daily cases reported is ONE TENTH the number at the apex of the pandemic in January. In other words... the vaccines work.
Let's pause a moment to reflect on the greatness of our science and technology. A year ago our future seemed uncertain. We reported frequently that the prior record for the quickest time between vaccine development and deployment was the measles vaccine in the 1960s and that took four years. The US did it in less than a year, using a relatively new mRNA vaccine platform. Even at our darkest hour, without competent leadership, our private business infrastructure led the way. We need to be grateful for what we achieved, and proud that our country, despite all the problems we have, has given the intellectual freedom to individuals to create technologies that help humanity. Our system of government that allows the protection of private intellectual property, and gives individuals the incentive to profit from their ideas and labors, has proven once again superior to all other forms of government. Collectivism can never out innovate and out produce a capitalist economy. And it never will.
YESTERDAY'S POST REVISTED.
First, we print our errors (as few as they may be) on the front page. Judge Ayana Harris is a county court judge. We originally wrote she was circuit court judge. Second, we pondered whether a judge who was serving in county court had ever been nominated and confirmed for the federal bench. That turned into a litany of comments noting that Judges Altonaga and Bloom and Moreno, to name a few, were federal district court judges who had been county court judges. But they were NOT on the county bench when nominated to federal district court. By the time of their nomination they had already been promoted to the circuit bench. So Judge Harris's nomination appears to be unique.
Nothing wrong with that. As we noted, many lawyers are nominated and confirmed to be district court judges. There should be NO stigma for serving on the county court. Many of the very best, smartest, and brightest judges we have ever appeared before were County Court Judges. We recall one county court judge within the last 15 years was promoted to the Third DCA, but the whole appointment to the county bench to begin with seemed a political process designed to just get the lawyer into the judiciary.
We re-affirm our support for Judge Harris. As the comments point out, she has what it takes to be a great addition to the federal bench. And perhaps the time she has spent on the County bench makes her uniquely qualified for the federal bench. Federal Court is populated by bright and hard working lawyers on both sides of a case. But in the end the case is about the litigant, not the lawyers. County Judges handle a lot of pro se cases. They see up close the toll any court case can take on a person. From missing work to the stress and uncertainty of how a case will affect them and their families, any contact with the legal system is difficult for the average person. The understanding of the human costs of a legal case may well serve Judge Harris well during her confirmation process if nominated. We wish her well on this journey.
DOM covered the retirement of Judge Ungaro yesterday. It included speeches and poems the revelation of a tradition of lunch-time scrabble battles in chambers. We love that. Check out his blog and have a great weekend.