THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996           TAG: 9610300004
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   28 lines

BAN LAWYERS FROM ELECTED OFFICE

I'm sure I won't make any friends with this suggestion. Everyone complains about the number of lawyers that seem to occupy every corner of our society. They hold too many elected and judicial positions. Well, there is a very simple solution to this problem.

1. Enact laws that explicitly prohibit lawyers from holding any elected office, local, state or federal. There are already certain occupations prohibited by law from holding office. I can't think of a job that provides any more of a conflict of interest than a lawyer passing laws that will affect his pocketbook so directly.

2. Prohibit lawyers from holding judicial positions. We have numerous programs set up around the country in universities dedicated to producing lawyers. Why not have a system dedicated to teaching prospective judicial applicants - a school for judges?

I don't think I have to explain why this would never pass muster in lawyer-controlled legislative bodies. It would require all of the lawyers that currently hold office to vote themselves out of a job. Well, I'm a realistic person and I don't see that happening in my lifetime.

RANDY McRAE

Virginia Beach, Oct. 23, 1996 by CNB