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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1989)
Paee 3 Portland Observer February 16,1989 St. Andrews: Legal Guardian to the Poor sufficient There is, however, another legal resource situated in the m idst o f the problematic low er Northeast sector o f the city that is largely underutilized by the very people it was created to serve. decimated anti-poverty programs. It is p itifu lly ironic that even though the St. Andrews Legal C lin ic was established in itia lly to give the people o f the low er Northeast community better legal services only a small proportion o f their clients come from that source. The clin ic is anxious to let that target population know that they are s till in business and w illin g to serve them when legal problems arise. to prove (Continued From Front Page) that contention. Even the m ajority opinion o f the U. S.Supreme C ourt does not rule out such efforts to remedy discrim ination in the construction industry when such a practice can be documented and proven. In that case, the C ity o f Richmond had enacted an ordinance which made it mandatory fo r a ll contracts let by the c ity to require a 30% participation o f African-Americans, Hispanics, Indians, Orientals, Eskimoes and Aleuts. Even though discrim ination against Blacks could be proven, the inclusion o f the other groups in the Richmond ordinance w ithout sufficient p ro o f in their favor tainted the entire remedy. Justice O ’Connor pointed out that the composition o f the c ity council its e lf which enacted the rule was suspect since its m ajority was Black. ST. AN D R EW S. L E G A L G U A R D IA N T O TH E POOR by Etienne de la Plume It frequently has been observed tliat those persons who become entangled w ith the laws o f this nation have a better chance for survival in a litiga tion process i f they are male, w hite and rich. The blind-folded statue o f justice that often adorns many a court house frequently is more a symbol o f blind man’ s b lu ff. Inside those edifices justice is meted out to the impecunious and the unlettered w ith a vengeance that rivals that fa m iliar childhood game. A v is it to any state or federal prison confirm s the fact that the p o o r, the m in o ritie s and the unsophisticated are represented by a factor which is far in excess o f the proportion o f their demographic representation within their own com m unity. W ith regard to legal representation, frequently persons so affected are saddled w ith legal representation by ambulance chasers, incompetent charlatans and overworked public defenders. In the latter case, Portland is fortunate to have an excellent public defender’ s office. evidence Minority Business Enterprise In Oregon Justice O ’Connor further questioned the Richm ond plan’ s rig id quota system since it gave no consideration as to the availability, financial stability and bonding ability. She also stated that even in the absence o f an affirm ative A C T IO N program the state has at its disposal other race neutral rem edies w h ic h c o u ld c o rre ct discrim ination in the market place. Am ong these she listed sim plification o f bidding procedures, relaxation o f bonding requirements, financial aid and the prohibition o f discrim ination in the provision o f credit or bonding by local suppliers and banks. Justice O ’Connor also recognized that a carefully tailored plan w ith certain strict guidelines for remedial purposes w ould not violate the constitutional guarantees o f equal protection in the 14 th amendment. They are staffed by four young lawyers from very good schools and solid fa m ily B A C KG R O U N D S who approach the practice o f law fo r their clients w ith missionary zeal W illia m Stegemeyer, Jr. probably summed it up best when he described his reason fo r entering the practice o f poverty law. Following periods as a student both in N orth Carolina and in Oregon he did a clerkship in one o f the Oregon courts. He became so involved in untangling the legal com plications o f persons who filtered through the system that he decided to devote his profession A ll o f these factors would appear to support the position that certain state agencies m ight have acted prematurely and perhaps inappropriately when they abandoned rather than modified M inority and Women Business Enterprise that already was in place. A t this point there is nothing to f ill the void and the m inority entrepreneurship so affected m ight be destroyed before some method can be devised to replace the programs that were invalidated by the court The governor has convened a committee to review this problem A N D to make recommendations to him fo r replacement programs. Certainly such an approach w ill be helpful, but this entire e ffo rt could be a meaningless and fru tile exercise i f the governor does not come forward immediately w ith a strong impact statement which would address this problem and underscore the devastating effect that the two court rulings could have upon numerous emerging small businesses within the state. Instead, heavy emphasis is being placed on developing guidelines which are both race and gender neutral. Since both members o f Minority Business Enterprises and their protagonist, the Associated General Contractors o f Am erica, are involved in this process it w ill be interesting to observe how far reaching their form al recommendation to the governor w ill be. One other approach fo r redress s till remains. The state legislature w hich is now in session could enact new guidelines w hich could survive the acid test o f litig a tio n .lt is appalling that no adequate survey has been commissioned which would properly document discrimination in the construction which is known to have been entrenched within the industry Lina Garcia-Seabold, the governor’s advocate for women and minorities, is preparing such a proposal for Margaret Carter to present to the legislature. Here is a case where the small entrepreneur, including women and m inorities needs to petition their representatives, senators and the governor and impress them w ith the emergency o f this dilemma. Cleo’s Cafe 3041 N. Williams 284-7150 Ethnic Cuisine Southern Style HOUSE SPECIALTIES Chitterlings • Meatloaf Mix Greens • Beef Stew Catfish • And Many Other Southern Dishes Including: Cleo’s Zesty Ribs In Sauce — HOME-COOKED DESERTS - Come See 'Luberta' For Down Home C ookin’! MEMBERS & GUESTS THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CENTER for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. is the 1989 honoree of the Give to the Dream, Johnson Products salutes Black organizations program. Eric Johnson, president of Johnson Products Co., Inc., presented Coretta Scott King with a $50,000 check to launch the year-long program. Johnson Products announced the Give to the Dream program at the annual assembly “State of the Dream” address on Sunday, January 15 at Ebeneze- Baptist Church. The first airplane purchased by the U S government was called the Vffs.s Columbia and bought from the Wright brothers in 1909 fo r years. SAFEW AY to that process. The St. Andrews Legal C lin ic located at 807 Northeast Alberta came on line almost 10 years ago. Even though it was first spearheaded by the S t. Andrews Roman Catholic Parish ju st across the street, their present a ffilia tio n is in name only. The clin ic is a public interest private group dedicated to O TH ER principle that poor people deserve adequate legal representation. a How many Black Americans are you familiar with in the history of our country? Chances are, not that many because you won't find them in most history books. But Black History Month gives us a chance to become aware of the contributions many Black Americans have made in science, medicine, industry, agriculture, literature and more. Join us in the observation of Black History Month and broaden your knowledge of how we, as a people have made this country what it is today. Especially are such services needed in th a t fu n d in g fo r litig a tio n was tremendously diminished during the eight years that the Reagan adm inistration Kathie Osborn comes from New Jersey, but succumbed to the urge to go West. She had never been to Oregon p rior to deciding to settle here. Her inspiration to practice poverty law came from her law professors at the University o f Oregon. An internship w ith the Benton County district attorney convinced her that was J a good choice. Keith Raines is the director o f the clinic and one o f its founders. He received his law degree from the U niversity o f Oregon and practiced in the neighborhood before jo in in g the St. Andrews Legal Clinic at its inception in 1979. Diminutive in statue but magnanimous in purpose he is a very fittin g mentor to the other lawyers on his staff who are dedicated to providing good law services to people w ith an embarrassment fo r funds. A Salute to Black H e ritage / On the other hand Kate Earley comes from a New Y o rk fam ily that always was service oriented toward helping those who are less fortunate w ithin our society. February It was her intention from the very outset to practice this type o f law. After receiving a degree in sociology, she studied law at American University in Washington, D.C. She has worked w ith many social action groups. The firm charges a sliding scale fo r its services beginning at $35 per hour.. P a tric ia D aw son, d ire c to r of development, claim s that most client charges hover around that benchmark. A Í Í J I I I 4\\W In addition to its day time services a night clin ic operates every Thursday between 6 and 9:30 p.m. where volunteer lawyers give new clients a 30 minute consultation fo r the reduced fee o f $ 15. The telephone number at the c lin ic is 281-1500. h * A <+ BLACK HISTORY M ONTH