President's Page
Robert J. McWhirter
Bob McWhirter is a Deputy Legal Defender in Maricopa County. He is AACJ's new President.
Jan 22, 2009
What Has AACJ Done for Me Lately
Many a public defender and private attorney who should be our members instead ask this question. The concerning part is that AACJ is as needed as ever: the county attorneys grandstand, the legislature panders, and the courts cower. Indeed, the same people who ask why we are relevant in almost the same breath recognize we are needed. So, what are we going to do?
In the next year this question should be both our focus and goal. First, we need to reach out to more people and see what we can directly offer them. This most especially includes the public defenders. We are a great secret and need to do a better job of getting our message out. Our amicus committee and strike force are doing great things. We offer some of the best CLE in the state. We need to tell more people about it. We don't just do this "lately" but all the time.
Second, we need to discuss where we want to be in five years. What should our membership be and how do we get there. How are we going to communicate with our people in the cyber age? Where do we want to go with our lobbying efforts?
Obviously as Jim Belanger, our immediate past president, has recognized, AACJ can't be all things to all people. He and the rest of the Board have done a great job of keeping our focus on doing what we do with excellence. With this in mind though, we need to let people know why we are relevant.
So, let's begin to tell people what we have done for them lately and what we are going to be doing in the future.