By Suzanne Potter
At a recent online forum, 10,000 attorneys, judges and citizens came together to defend the rule of law in the Trump era, in California and across the U.S.
Threats against judges have risen in recent years, and administration officials regularly malign judges who rule against them.
David Boies, an attorney known for his role in Bush v. Gore and the fight for marriage equality, said the foundation of our democracy – the rule of law – is in crisis.
“These kinds of attacks on judges, threats to judges, threats to disregard decisions. They’re absolutely, irretrievably, irredeemably wrong,” Boies stressed. “We know that.”
A recent analysis by the Washington Post found Trump officials have defied one in three judges who have ruled against him. The Supreme Court ruled the president largely cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed in office. President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to indict people he sees as his enemies, arguing he is righting past wrongs.
Mark Geragos, a well-known criminal defense attorney, criticized a recent decision from Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh affirming it is legal for immigration agents to stop people based on their appearance or occupation.
“If you read what Justice Kavanaugh now defines as reasonable suspicion, even though there is an express disclaimer that is not ethnicity, everything about that decision is basically ethnicity and that should scare people,” Geragos contended.
Steve Zack, a past president of the American Bar Association, is calling out the Trump administration’s move to punish law firms which have employed or represented Trump’s foes.
“This is not an accident and this is not based on just one law firm,” Zack pointed out. “This is a policy of intimidation, to intimidate lawyers, judges and the use of the Constitution to defend your rights.”
Stand up for Justice, Lawyers for Good Government and Lawyers Defending American Democracy all offer more information online about attorneys’ efforts to defend the rule of law.
