Secondly, I think it's totally unworkable. I ask you to consider that individuals coming to the court system are not doing something wrong and shouldn't be punished for coming to the court system, especially for civil litigation. . . In an adoption case, I look at that where everyone is a winner. The danger I see if you remove that certification is you may reintroduce politicization back into the process where the most powerful circuit gets the resources. A litigant in Palatka should have the same access, whether they walk into the Union County Courthouse or the Alachua County Courthouse.
Lawyers are different.
They're not different, Rep. Melvin, in an elitist sense, but they're different because they subscribe to a code of conduct and a way of life, a professional life, that holds them accountable in a way that no other profession and no other group of people in Florida are held accountable. . . . I can say this with a great deal of authority, being the representative to the national bar, our record is envied by bars throughout this entire country. They follow our lead. That's not to say that we're the best. Clearly, we can all improve what we do.