Paul Anderson – He Saw Tomorrow’s America
Today, Minnesota will
retire another truly outstanding Supreme Court Justice, Paul H. Anderson. By today’s standards, he was a long
termer (19 years) and an impact player.
I was invited to speak
at his ceremony which was held some two weeks ago. Unfortunately, due to a back problem I was unable to attend.
What follows was
generated from notes I prepared in keeping with Paul’s request that they not be
flowery.
__________
Paul Anderson’s legal
career was exemplified by his commitment to his favorite phrase “majesty of
law”. He saw the application of
law beyond the normalcy of process.
Rather, majesty implied the greatness and dignity of law.
That may well appear
to be a lofty and acceptable ideal but it has been under continuous attack from
those who want to use the power of government for their own economic and narrow
political purposes.
The reality is that
the majesty of law can only prevail when jurists and political leaders are
truly committed to strengthen and further democracy. They must have the resolve and unshakeable courage to stand
against what may well be the prevailing opinion of today in order to protect
the rights of dissent.
We saw so clearly
evidence of this last year with the constitutional amendment designed to limit
access and fairness under the guise of preventing fraud. Although voters soundly rejected the
proposal, the struggle for full voting rights continues. In some states last year, the courts
put an end to some obvious abuses while in others, they did not.
But, ultimately, the
majesty of law prevailed - thanks in part to courageous jurists such as Alan
Page and Paul Anderson whose dissent provided a powerful message to the voting
public. In the final analysis, the
true achievement was with the people – the people who listened and understood that
the real meaning of democracy was its ability to look beyond its European
heritage and welcome a newer America; an America that is more global, more
representative.
They not only smashed down
the voter ID amendment here in Minnesota but thousands and thousands of voters
in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida stood in line for up to 6 to 9
hours in order to vote. Now that’s
commitment.
They so much wanted to
participate in the simple and basic ceremony of voting. And no barrier was high enough or
sturdy enough to prevent this emerging coalition from participating.
At that moment, they
held hands with our Founding Fathers, with Abraham Lincoln, and with the movers
behind the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act. And they loudly proclaimed the majesty of law.
In so many ways, their
actions are a testimony to those outstanding jurists such as Paul Anderson who
continuously protected and enhanced the application of democracy. He always brought out the best in us
and now leaves us with a legacy and personal commitment to the “majesty of
law.”
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