Author Index Hon. Ron Spears

The Science, Technology, and Innovation President

By Ron Spears
February
2024
Column
, Page 44
Abraham Lincoln’s curiosity and interest in science and technology advanced the nation.

Lincoln’s Challenge to Save Democracy

By Ron Spears
February
2023
Column
, Page 52
Reflections on Abraham Lincoln’s way of facing the struggles of his time, and what we can learn as we face our own.

Lincoln and Robert E. Lee

By Ron Spears
February
2022
Column
, Page 44
The restoration of Robert E. Lee’s reputation vs. true racial reckoning.

Lincoln, Campbell, and Rock

By Ron Spears
February
2021
Column
, Page 44
Three lawyers who wrestled with slavery, racism, and leadership.

Why Lincoln Still Matters

By Ron Spears
November
2020
Column
, Page 44
Notes from a Lincolnesque lawyer.

Lincoln’s Resiliency Résumé

By Ron Spears
August
2020
Column
, Page 44
The coping skills Lincoln gained from his many setbacks, failures, and dark times.

Lincoln, Explainer of Things

By Ron Spears
February
2020
Column
, Page 44
Lincoln had a way of making complex topics easy to understand for judges and jurors.

When Goings Got Rough

By Ron Spears
August
2019
Column
, Page 48
The time when Lincoln allegedly told a thirsty client, on trial for murdering her husband, about the tasty water in Tennessee.

A Bridge Over Troubled Steamboats

By Ron Spears
May
2019
Column
, Page 44
Abraham Lincoln and his involvement in a case defending the first train bridge over the Mississippi River.

Shining Moonlight on Witness Testimony

By Ron Spears
August
2018
Column
, Page 46
The most intriguing part of Lincoln's famous almanac trial was his interest in science.

When Lincoln Learned What Not to Say

By Ron Spears
May
2018
Column
, Page 46
In the 1840s, Lincoln learned the hard way that bullying and belittling words can produce embarrassing, even dangerous, consequences.

Lincoln and Stanton: Incivility Meets Humility

By Ron Spears
February
2018
Column
, Page 44
Frontier-lawyer Lincoln responded to humiliating disrespect from co-counsel Edwin Stanton by working hard to improve - and by later making Stanton his Secretary of War.

Lincoln’s ‘Matson Problem’

By Ron Spears & Roger Billings
May
2017
Column
, Page 46
Lincoln's decision to represent a slaveholder against slaves seeking their freedom is controversial to this day.

A New Look at Lawyer Lincoln

By Ron Spears
February
2017
Column
, Page 44
A new ISBA effort will generate articles and CLE about Lincoln's legal career and the lesson it can teach us.

Black Robe to Gold Watch

By Hon. Ron Spears
February
2016
Column
, Page 46
What do aging citizens – and judges – mean for the justice system?

Judging Forensic Science

By Hon. Ron Spears
November
2015
Column
, Page 48
Lawyers and judges have been slow to acknowledge the limitations of forensic science.

Are Courts Headed for a Market Failure?

By Ron Spears
August
2015
Column
, Page 52
Dissatisfied litigants and other unhappy "consumers" of justice are increasingly choosing private options.
2 comments (Most recent July 30, 2015)

‘Investing’ in Litigation

By Hon. Ron Spears
May
2015
Column
, Page 46
The rapid growth of litigation funding raises a host of issues.

Flawed Facts and Fact-Finders

By Hon. Ron Spears
February
2015
Column
, Page 44
More judges are being asked to allow expert testimony about eyewitness ID and confessions.

Are We Ready for ‘Practice Ready’?

By Hon. Ron Spears
November
2014
Column
, Page 550
Should law schools do more to prepare grads for practice?

Juries in the Age of Voir Google

By Hon. Ron Spears
August
2014
Column
, Page 402
Lawyers are using Internet to research prospective jurors.

Unstructuring Structured Settlements

By Hon. Ron Spears
May
2014
Column
, Page 248
Some companies and plaintiffs want to revert structured settlements to lump sums, and judges have the final say.

Judicial Independence: Two Westerns and a Promise

By Hon. Ron Spears
February
2014
Column
, Page 98
Sometimes judges have to make a lonely stand against the majority.

An Adversary System without Advocates

By Hon. Ron Spears
November
2013
Column
, Page 592
Our courts are ill-designed to meet the needs of pro se litigants. The supreme court is responding.

Happiness Tips from Seligman and Ziglar

By Hon. Ron Spears
August
2013
Column
, Page 432
You can be both happy and healthily pessimistic.

Dinosaurs and Jury Trials: Adaptation or Extinction?

By Hon. Ron Spears
May
2013
Column
, Page 264
Trial by jury remains a key underpinning of our justice system.

Lincoln on the Wall

By Hon. Ron Spears
February
2013
Column
, Page 104
Lincoln was an exemplary but not perfect lawyer - which makes his example all the more inspiring.

Court Approval of Minors’ Settlements

By Hon. Ron Spears
November
2012
Column
, Page 613
Should judicial approval be required for even small damage awards for minors?

The Real Prisoner’s Dilemma

By Hon. Ron Spears
August
2012
Column
, Page 442
Defendants have a Constitutional right to effective counsel during plea bargains.

A Bricoleur’s Response to Murphy’s Law

By Hon. Ron Spears
May
2012
Column
, Page 270
"Bricolage" is the art of creating a solution using whatever is available. It's an art litigators would do well to cultivate.

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