Minnesota Lawyer
The six victims in the Tucson shooting
By Janie Paulson
Lessons from Tucson: Words Do Hurt
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. As children, we all learned this phrase but through life we have all learned that words do hurt – a loved one leaves you – a boss is critical of your work – and we react based on hearing a few simple words. The vast majority of people do not react to words with violence but it certainly happens more often than we all would like.
As a court employee, every day I witness the power words have on lawyers, parties and witnesses. As an advocate, that power is used to zealously represent clients or my point of view. As a proud American and lawyer, the right to use my words freely is upheld with the utmost reverence. But with that right needs to be recognition that what we say impacts others.
In the wake of the Tucson shooting that resulted in the lost life of a fellow lawyer and others, many look to place the blame on the political rhetoric that dominates our news cycles. Michelle Bachmann, a lawyer and at one time a licensed Minnesota attorney, used her words to say: “I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard.” Joe Biden, a lawyer who practiced until 1972, told people in the midst of the H1N1 flu outbreak “I would tell members of my family – and I have – I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now.” Many blame Bachmann and others that invoke 2nd Amendment terminologies for the upswing in violence at political events and that hate groups memberships are at their highest ever. Many blamed Biden for the decrease in air travel after the H1N1 outbreak.
These examples on the large scale happen on the small scale every day, which is that our words affect the way others act. Divorce and criminal cases are messy, full of blame, and often vengeful. Even civil cases can involve snap judgments on a person’s lifestyle, values or choices. Bankruptcy illuminates human failures. In each of these situations, the potential for violence is always a risk.
Congress may have the power of the purse but lawyers have the power of words. With that power comes immense responsibility to be aware that what we say and write will impact others. As we further develop in our careers, and use our words to get a great settlement, change a policy, or get a great judgment, we should all take a lesson from Judge John Roll and find the right attitude when in a courtroom. Just because we have the knowledge and power to use our words to hurt opposing parties or criticize clients or engage in revenge, doesn’t mean that we should.
