Dear John,
As attacks on judges and judicial decision-making continue to escalate, LDAD volunteers are stepping up by contributing important content and educational opportunities.
We are excited by the response to this week’s timely and important webinar, From the Social Media Feed to the Courtroom: How Judges and Jurors Remain Impartial. This webinar will explore the extraordinary pressures on our justice system resulting from constant media scrutiny, dangerously adversarial comments from government officials, and the way in which social media amplifies all of it. If you have not yet registered, please do so here. The webinar is this Thursday, November 20, from 4:30 – 5:30 (eastern).
We are grateful to LDAD volunteer James B. Kobak for his important article addressing attacks on the judiciary and published in The Albany Times: Commentary: Attacks on Judges Have a Frightening Purpose. Through our Meeting the Moment initiative and our Working Group on Judicial Independence, we encourage our volunteers to join us in developing articles for publication in media outlets around the country.
Recently, LDAD’s executive director had the opportunity to participate in an extraordinary event that serves as a model for how bar associations can bring together judges, lawyers, and scholars for community conversations to inspire further civic engagement. This program was sponsored by the Greater Newburyport Bar Association and featured an important panel discussion entitled, The Rise of Authoritarianism: What's Happening to Our Rights? The program can be viewed via this link.
As part of our Meeting the Moment initiative, LDAD welcomes opportunities to work with bar associations throughout the country in planning and implementing similar events. Lawyers have a special role to play as convenors of community conversations that will inspire the public to speak up on behalf of the rule of law and our justice system.
The Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution, provides an additional opportunity to engage in programs and events designed to talk about the ideals that led to our nation’s founding, and the threats we face today to our democracy. We invite you to find ways to join LDAD in these efforts.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
P.S. We are grateful for your support of our efforts and hope you consider donating to LDAD’s important work.
