Differences in the law

Michele Marr

Jewish law and American law differ. How they differ and why will be

the topic of discussion at the Jewish Lawyers of Orange County’s

inaugural meeting on Wednesday.

Professor Neil H. Cogan, dean of Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa and

a respected expert on both American and Jewish law, will speak on “The

Duty to Rescue Under Jewish Law and American Law.”

“I will be talking about the obligation to assist someone in danger,”

Cogan said. “In the United States, typically, there is no such

obligation.”

In Jewish law, there is a duty to aid someone who is in danger or who

has suffered grave bodily injury.

In his presentation, Cogan will compare American law, with what he

describes as “its strong foundation of individual autonomy,” and Jewish

law, which he describes as having “a significant foundation in

community.”

In Jewish law, Cogan explained, “You are actually committing a sin if

you do not help someone who is in serious danger.” In terms of American

law, a person can observe another in a dire situation -- a road accident

or a fire -- and walk away without legal repercussions.

Statutes in the law of Israel, said Cogan, require one to offer

assistance to a person in danger. Statutes also offer protection to the

rescuer should something be done in an emergency somehow causing injuries

or damages.

Jewish law does have an exception to the duty to rescue: If the rescue

requires you to put yourself in danger of losing your life, then there is

no obligation.

“But if you can do something,” Cogan said, “in terms of the water,

throwing a rope in a fire, calling the appropriate person . . . likewise

on the highway, if you have a cell phone, calling to say ‘there has been

and accident, get here quickly,’ you must.”

The luncheon will be held at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach and is

open to all attorneys. The State Bar of California has approved the

presentation for one hour of continuing legal education credit.

Deborah M. Rosenthal, co-chair of the event with Jerry Werksman, said

thisis one more reason, “along with the great food” that attorneys may

wish to attend.

“But mostly,” she said, “we are very excited to have Neil Cogan as our

first speaker on this topic that is certainly timely.”

The society is meant to provide a venue for attorneys to look at

currentevents and legal events from a Jewish perspective.

“As an attorney I am interested in both the American legal response

and the Jewish religious response,” Rosenthal said.

Local attorney Arie Katz described the group as Werksman, who is also

an attorney in the community, envisioned it.

“He wanted to create a legal affinity group that would be an associate

with the Jewish Federation, to bring together the Jewish attorneys and

judges in Orange County for social interaction and for opportunities to

study and to learn together,” he said.

Katz and Rosenthal each see the affinity legal group and the luncheon

presentations as a way for Jewish attorneys to meet each other and to

learn about one another’s various areas of practice. Rosenthal describes

the formation of the group as part of an explosion in Jewish activity and

community growth that has been occurring in Orange County during the past

few years.

Katz sees Cogan as the perfect choice as speaker for this kickoff

luncheon. “He is one of the few Orthodox Jewish law school deans in the

United States. There are not more than one or two. He is a scholar and a

teacher,” he said.

Cogan is the editor of “The Complete Bill of Rights: the Drafts,

Debates, Sources and Origins,” and of the forthcoming, “The Complete

Reconstruction Bill of Rights,” a companion text on the 13th, 14th and

15th Amendments.

FYI

* What: Jewish Lawyers of Orange County Inaugural Luncheon: “The Duty

to Rescue Under Jewish Law and American Law”

* Where: The Pacific Club, 4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach

* When: Noon Wednesday

* Cost: $45 at the door

* Call: (714) 755-5555, Ext. 275