Every morning, they don their black robes, take their seats and listen to the pleas of a long line of immigrants desperate to stay in America. The pace is fast, the pressure intense, the stories sometimes haunting. The work, these judges say, is exhausting:

"The volume is constant and unrelenting.' ... 'There is not enough time to think.' ... 'Nobody gives a damn about us!' ... 'I know I couldn't do this job if I were not on medication for depression or did not have access to competent psychological care myself.' ... 'I cannot take this place anymore. What a dismal job this is!'"

These are the voices of immigration judges who determine the fate of tens of thousands of people every year - illegal border crossers, visa violators, refugees who flee China, El Salvador, Iran and other countries, each making a case to remain here.

These judges are at the heart of a bloated immigration court system saddled by explosive growth, a troubled reputation and a record backlog, according to one estimate, of nearly 268,000 cases. The problems are drawing increased scrutiny of a little-seen world where justice can seem arbitrary, lives can remain in limbo for years - and blame seems to be in abundance.

A Florida judge has refused to grant class-action status to a lawsuit by contributors who claim Gov. Charlie Crist cheated them by becoming an independent.

The plaintiffs, Linda Morton of Naples and James Rood of Jacksonville, a former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, had also asked the court to freeze $7.5 million in Crist's campaign warchest, the Fort Myers News-Press reported. Senior Circuit Judge Jack Schoonover refused Thursday to convert the lawsuit to a class action and has twice refused to freeze any of Crist's funds.

Tom Grady, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said Crist, who is running as an independent for the U.S. Senate, could be hit with hundreds of small claims cases from individual donors.

Crist dropped his affiliation with the Republican Party several months ago after polls showed him losing the primary to Marco Rubio, a former speaker of the state House of Representatives and Tea Party favorite.

Zack -- who will make his announcement during a speech to the association’s House of Delegates -- says it is important to include lawyers from all political persuasions and areas of the legal profession to examine the issue of access to justice.

“Our system of government was created with the basic belief that the doors to our courts would always be open to all citizens.  Equal justice under law is the birthright of Americans.  It is a promise enshrined in our Constitution and written over the entrance of our Supreme Court.  We need to make good on this promise,” says Zack.

Zack will outline his core presidential initiatives during his speech, as well as announce additional blue-ribbon participants for the ABA entities that will focus on the following topics: 

▪ access to justice and the underfunding of the judiciary;

▪ the need for increased civic education in our schools and society;

▪ Hispanic legal rights; and

▪ the ABA’s work in the area of disaster response and preparedness.

Zack’s official investiture as president begins at the close of the ABA Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10.  He is a partner in the national law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, and will be the first Hispanic president of the ABA in its more than 130-year history.

Additional information about Zack’s initiatives

The Task Force on the Preservation of the Justice System will be composed of talented and distinguished attorneys and judges from across the country.  Zack will call on them to highlight the fiscal crisis that has resulted in budget slashes to courts nationwide.  In particular, Zack will call attention to the devastating result of underfunded courts:  a decline in access to justice.

The Commission on Civic Education in the Nation’s Schools will draw on the combined talents of attorneys, judges, educators and organizational leaders.  Their role will be to promote civic education as a national educational priority, highlight and enhance existing civic education efforts and create opportunities for innovative civic education programs throughout the United States.

The Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights will identify important legal issues that represent barriers to full participation by, and daily contributions from, Hispanics living in the United States.  The work of the commission and its advisory committee will help focus and foster an environment that welcomes and recognizes the contributions of Hispanics in our society and ensures their human rights. 

The ABA Special Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness will be charged with conducting “tabletop” exercises to assess the association’s readiness for a natural or manmade disaster, and will develop a comprehensive crisis plan.  In particular, Zack would like the committee to address how uncertainty can and might affect our way of life, our Constitutional guarantees and our system of justice, and to develop responsive measures that will help safeguard the future.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

To identify the source of a class-action lawsuit involving thousands of alleged victims and defendants representing virtually the entire egg industry in America, look no further than a Main Street restaurant in Falconer.

According to local attorney Arthur Bailey, the case began with a cup of coffee at T.K. Ribbing's in the spring of 2008.

"I am the beginning of it," said Bailey, who listened to owner Steve Ribbing as he voiced his frustration over the price of eggs. He told Bailey that he could purchase large quantities at the local grocery store cheaper than he was currently getting them from his wholesaler.

Bailey, whose experience lies with fraud, malpractice claims and class actions, agreed the situation was "economically backward."

He said Ribbing's complaint was quickly referred to James Pizzirusso, a partner with the Hausfeld LLP firm, and a lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in September 2008.

With media attention beginning to focus on soaring prices, the Justice Department declared its intention to investigate the egg industry. Within a month of Ribbing's orignal lawsuit it appointed a team of lawyers from Hausfeld to begin a class-action suit.

Bailey, who is not currently among the lead counsel, said he enjoys a working relationship with Hausfeld that has lasted three decades. He said he provides a service for the firm by scouting potential cases. His son, Arthur Bailey Jr. serves as an associate attorney for the firm's San Francisco office.

In a survey released today by the American Bar Association, judges indicated that a lack of representation in civil matters is hurting those individuals’ cases, and is negatively impacting courtrooms.

Approximately 1,000 state trial judges responded to the survey, which posed questions about their dockets, self-representation and the impact on the courts.  More than half of the judges stated that their dockets increased in 2009, with the most common areas of increase involving foreclosures, domestic relations, consumer issues such as debt, and non-foreclosure housing issues such as rental disputes. 

Sixty percent of judges said that fewer parties are being represented by lawyers, with 62 percent saying that parties are negatively impacted by not being represented.  The impact is exemplified, through a failure to present necessary evidence (94 percent), procedural errors (89 percent), ineffective witness examination (85 percent), failure to properly object to evidence (81 percent) and ineffective argument (77 percent).

The ABA has a resource page on its website that can help individuals find legal assistance — www.findlegalhelp.org.  

During a time when state budgets are constrained, agencies as well as courts are being asked to become more efficient.  However, the increase in non-represented parties makes this more difficult for courts.  The lack of representation has a negative impact on the court, said 78 percent of the judges, and 90 percent of judges stated that court procedures are slowed when parties are not represented.

Nearly half of the judges responding believe that there is a middle-class gap with respect to access to justice, stating that the number of people who are not represented and who do not qualify for aid has increased.

Lamm announced the findings during a news conference earlier today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. 

The survey of judges on the impact of the economic downturn on representation in the courts was conducted for the ABA Coalition for Justice.  Respondents came from around the country.

Elena Kagan is speeding toward confirmation as the 112th Supreme Court justice, with Republicans showing little appetite for a long-shot filibuster attempt after sparring with her over abortion, gays in the military and other divisive issues.

"Solicitor General Kagan will be confirmed," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., confidently predicted as the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up its examination of President Barack Obama's high court pick.

Barring an unexpected turn, Kagan will succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens and become the fourth female justice in the Supreme Court's history. It would be the first time that three of the court's nine justices were women.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, called a filibuster of Kagan "highly unlikely." And asked outright whether Kagan was going to win confirmation, another Judiciary Committee Republican, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, replied, "I assume she will be."

Kagan, 50, spent her last day before the committee Wednesday trying to reassure conservatives that she would be able to separate her personal and political views from a job as a justice on the ideologically split Supreme Court.

Susan Merrill, who is stepping down as the head of enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street's self-regulatory body, is set to become a partner at the law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP.

Ms. Merrill, 53 years old, will lead Bingham's enforcement practice and advise clients on regulatory and securities enforcement matters. She will join the firm's New York office this week.

"Susan is a recognized leader in the securities field," Jay Zimmerman, Bingham's chairman, said in a statement. "Her arrival to Bingham exemplifies our investment and commitment to building the strongest securities team."

Ms. Merrill was hired by the New York Stock Exchange in 2004 to help revive its regulation division. She became head of enforcement at Finra in 2007 when the National Association of Securities Dealers merged with the regulatory arm of the NYSE, forming Finra. Previously, Ms. Merrill was a litigation partner at New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

At Finra, Ms. Merrill helped to merge the enforcement departments of the NASD and NYSE, and brought a number of auction-rate-securities cases against Wall Street firms.