Mandatory Pro Bono in Mississippi

A current proposal in Mississippi would require attorneys to perform 20 hours of pro bono service or pay a $500 fine. Don't tell Obama about this, or he'll seek to put the same requirements on doctors so that the doctors get so pissed off over such involuntary servitude that they decide to change careers.

The people who come up with junk like this ought to be tarred and feathered. It sounds more like a sentence handed down from the bench. Just change "pro bono" to "community service" and you get: "you are required to perform 20 hours of community service or pay a $500 fine." Your crime? You chose the wrong profession and the government wants a pound of flesh so it can implement its pet project.

Chief Justice Bill Waller, Jr. said "I am interested in making sure that the poor have the same access to courts as those who can afford to hire attorneys. These are challenging economic times. We must be vigilant in making sure there are sufficient funds and people available to represent the poor."

Stealing time from attorneys will not solve the problems of the poor any more than stealing time from doctors will cure all the sick. Chief Justice Bill Waller, Jr. should be impeached for his lack of understanding of liberty and the individual rights set forth in the Constitution.