As you may have heard, Al Feldstein, the long time editor of Mad Magazine, has died. He was 88 at the time of his death, but during his life, he edited the humor rag during its heyday from 1955 to 1984. Since we’re big Springsteen fans, we direct your attention to the cover above, that of Mad Magazine #270, which is a parody of the Live/1975–85 box set. That issue was published in 1987, just a few years after Feldstein retired from the publication.

Back in April 2011, in an edition of Friday Links, we here at Abnormal Use featured Mad Magazine #274 (cover pictured above) as our legally themed comic book cover of the week. Yes, as you can see, at the time of that issue’s publication (1987, again), the magazine was parodying “L.A. Law,” the then-popular legal drama. Of that cover, we said:

We recently realized that most newly minted lawyers are now too young to remember watching “L.A. Law” when it originally aired back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is sad news. How is it that a practicing lawyer can be unaware of the fictional exploits of the McKenzie Brackman firm? Was it that long ago in the past when the show left the airwaves in 1994? Was it that many years ago that the Rosalind Shays character perished by falling down an elevator shaft? So, what can we do but commemorate this program by sharing with you the cover of Mad Magazine #274, published way back in 1987? (An aside: One of the writer contributors of this blog actually bought this issue off the newsstand back in ’87, but we’re not going to tell you which one of us it was so as to protect the innocent.).

Indeed, we here at Abnormal Use became familiar with Mad Magazine back in the mid-1980’s, well after it was an institution. It was certainly superior to the other fad of the time: Garbage Pail Kids. By the 1990’s, though, we had left comic books and Mad Magazine behind, so we missed the legally themed cover to issued #322, published way, way back December 1994 and pictured below:

Mad Magazine on the O.J. Simpson trial? We might have to make our way to eBay to find a copy of that one (if only to learn why Marcia Clark appears to be introducing a photograph of famed magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman as an exhibit to the proceedings). Yes, yes, we realize that if offering this tribute to Mr. Feldstein that we only displayed Mad Magazine covers from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s (after his tenure). So, today, in honor of Mr. Feldstein, head on over to Mad Magazine‘s official website, or if you’d like to stroll down memory lane, to Comicvine, where you can access images of all of Mad Magazine‘s covers all the way back to the 1950’s.

Recently, Pope Francis tweeted: “Inequality is the root of social evil.” I would like to go a little further and suggest that in the United States, lawyers are the great equalizers. Our Constitution was drafted, in part, by lawyers seeking to avoid the dangers of a monarchy and an overzealous government. Our Bill of Rights makes us unique and gives us not only rights, but responsibilities. In his speech at the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910, then former President Teddy Roosevelt, speaking most eloquently about the duties of citizens in a democracy, said, “To you and your kind much has been given, and from you much should be expected . . . no self-respecting individual, no self-respecting nation, can or ought to submit to wrong.”

Today, in this time of 24 hour news and 24/7 Internet bombardment of opinion and disinformation, there must be guardians of truth. Our Constitution sets forth the framework for finding the truth with rights, including but not limited to, free speech, due process of law, equal protection, counsel in criminal matters, and protection from illegal search and seizure. But this precious framework is worthless unless we have champions willing to stand in the breach and cry foul when these rights are abridged, either individually or against society as a whole. The list of legal championships is long, and in the history of the world unique to the United States of America: Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, and Gideon v. Wainwright are just a few examples. Each case was championed by a lawyer, who was not afraid to seek truth, justice and equality.

Just this week, the owner of the L.A. Clippers was banned from the NBA and fined $2,500,000.00 because of racist statements he made in a private conversation. The NBA may now try to take away his ownership of the team. Notwithstanding the despicable nature of his comments, the issue may come down to whether a citizen may be deprived of property as a result of a surreptitious private recording of his speech. He has the means to hire an army of lawyers to protect his property rights. But what about the aggrieved single mom who can’t support her family because of a deadbeat dad, the falsely accused indigent, or the individual who is the subject of racial, gender, age or religious discrimination? Who will take their cases? Most likely, it will not be an army of lawyers hired by a multimillionaire. No, it will be a solitary lawyer who takes seriously his or her oath “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States . . . and to assist the defenseless or oppressed by ensuring that justice is available to all citizens. . . .” President Abraham Lincoln knew the trials and tribulations of a lawyer seeking justice, truth and equality. These lessons he learned so well were the foundation for his quest for equality for all Americans. Speaking on the issue of equality and the framers of the Constitution, he stated, “They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society which should be familiar to all – constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and, even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people, everywhere.”

I know of no greater honor in civilian society than the privilege of representing a client in pursuit of truth, equality and justice. We lawyers must always be willing to stand in the breach between lies and truth, injustice and justice, and inequality and equality. So, on this Law Day 2014, take stock in the words of Pope Francis, President Lincoln, and President Teddy Roosevelt. In our society, we lawyers are the great equalizers and we must fight social evil by “constantly” laboring for equality. If he were alive on this Law Day 2014, I think that President Roosevelt would be telling us: The credit belongs to the lawyer who is actually in the courtroom… who strives valiantly; who errs… who comes short again and again… who does actually strive to do the deeds…. who knows great enthusiasm… who spends himself or herself in a worthy cause… who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he/she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his/her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.