Message Recorded for the American Bar Association Conference on the Law and the Layman at Miami Beach, Florida.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I want you to know that I am not simply indulging in formalities when I tell you how pleased I am--personally and officially--that you are undertaking this Conference on the Law and the Layman.

I am delighted with your interest in our judicial system, and especially our traffic courts. It may be a trite observation, but nevertheless a true one, that the traffic courts give most citizens their only first-hand contact with the judicial process.

These courts, then, need to be well conducted by qualified judges. An atmosphere of dignity is essential. The purpose at all times must be to safeguard the constitutional rights of all defendants, while serving the best interests of the public.

When these conditions exist, the people who appear in court respect the law, and realize that law exists for their protection. When courts do not come up to these standards, people become disillusioned and cynical.

It is inevitable, then, that traffic courts can foster respect for all courts.

Certainly your Conference is timely, coming when the Nation faces the depressing possibility of a new record traffic death toll of around forty thousand.

I believe most people do not realize--I learned it, myself, only recently-that violations of the law are involved in two-thirds of our fatal accidents. It seems to me that if this fact could be brought home to every driver, it would do a great deal to stimulate voluntary law observance.

My own observation has been that laws, most of the time, seem somewhat remote and abstract to the average person. He figures that other people make the laws; other people violate them. He is a law-abiding citizen himself.

Yet, this same law-abiding citizen may be violating traffic laws because he doesn't know what the laws are. Or he may cheat on what he considers minor violations because he feels it won't do any harm. It is a sort of game. What he doesn't realize is that this is why accidents happen.

So, you are here for an important purpose, and your opportunity is great. You can furnish the leadership that will stimulate all citizens to know the law and to obey it--for their own good as well as for the good of others.

You can also create the public demand that will give us the right kind of traffic courts everywhere and the public support which these courts must have if they are to cope with the critical accident problem.