Dear John,
Never before has our justice system been under such intense scrutiny. Judges face the glare of the spotlight on what happens in their courtrooms when cases are being heard and they are vilified and personally attacked for the decisions they render.
LDAD invites you to register for our webinar addressing these challenges to the justice system: From the Social Media Feed to the Courtroom - How Judges and Jurors Remain Impartial. The webinar is on November 20 at 4:30 pm (eastern) and you may register by clicking here.
This discussion is particularly timely. At a recent Federalist Society event, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared war on “activist judges,” excoriated the courts for trying to stop government operations, and criticized “activist” bar associations for doing their job -which includes the licensing of attorneys and ensuring their adherence to the code of professional conduct.
Blanche’s comments about the courts are a betrayal of his oath as an attorney and a disgrace to the profession. Through LDAD’s Working Group on Judicial Independence and Attacks on the Judiciary and our Meeting the Moment initiative, we will increase our efforts to defend and protect the justice system and explain how this behavior follows the autocratic pattern of seeding distrust in and targeting the legal profession.
We are grateful for the positive response to our recent webinar, Free Speech Under Siege - Echoes of McCarthyism. The recording of that session is now available and can be accessed here. Special thanks to LDAD Board member and Mercer University School of Law Professor Gary Simson for coordinating and moderating this program, and for inviting these distinguished panelists to participate: Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law; Professor Kermit Roosevelt of Penn Carey Law School; and Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law Emerita, New York Law School, and former president of the ACLU. We are grateful for their time and insightful commentary on this difficult and important topic.
Attacks on the judiciary, and the justice system generally, are hallmarks of government leaders embracing authoritarianism. In forthcoming programs, we will continue to highlight these and other dangerous authoritarian patterns facing our country.
We are grateful for your support of our efforts and hope you will join us by volunteering your time and consider donating to LDAD’s important work.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
