Sometimes it seems that wherever lawyers and judges are gathered for a good cause or a bar event, Arthur G. Scotland is inevitably present. Despite the demands of serving as Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District, Justice Scotland is incredibly involved in the legal community as well as the community as a whole. It is therefore no surprise that the SCBA has named him Judge of the Year for 2004. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor, Justice Scotland!

As I prepared this issue, I was struck by how many activities and events were held this spring. Both the Center for Youth Citizenship and the Judicial Council held educational programs on the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and the SCBA sponsored a reception after the Judicial Council's symposium. Operation Protect and Defend held a Law Day event to honor the students who had participated in that program's essay contest. The students were treated to an inspiring keynote address from Sacramento City Fire Chief Julius Cherry that is excerpted in this issue. ABAS hosted several events, including a well-attended wine tasting fundraiser sponsored by its foundation. Volunteers In Parole honored the many volunteers, including local lawyers and judges, who help parolees from our prisons put their lives back together again. Legal Services of Northern California sponsored a program for law students intended to promote interest in public interest law. And I am sure that there were many other legal community events that we missed.

Viewed collectively, these events show that Sacramento has a wonderfully active legal community. More importantly, the events show that our local lawyers and judges care about educating the community as a whole about our legal system, including the importance of our Constitution and the rule of law. These worthy efforts contrast with the poor public image from which the legal profession continues to suffer. So the next time you hear some political commentator pop off about the evils caused by lawyers (or even those dreaded trial lawyers) you might remind them that our profession does quite a bit. This is not to suggest that we do enough to address society's ills, but many lawyers, law firms and bar associations contribute quite extensively to the public good.

This issue also has a few articles not pertaining to either an event or an award. We have somewhat belated profiles of Judges Steve White and Robert Hight, who were appointed to the Superior Court in the waning days of the Davis Administration. This month's installment of Judge Loren McMaster's column, "Civil Law And Motion Notes," provides a helpful overview of the requirements for ex parte relief. As always, I thank all of this month's contributors for their fine work.