Dear John,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy is expanding its advocacy to meet this critical moment. Each day, our board members and volunteers are engaged in addressing the mounting challenges to the rule of law and the justice system.
Earlier this month, in recognition of Law Day, the Texas State Leads for our Meeting the Moment initiative, Michael Curry and Jacob Rolls, wrote about the need for lawyers to exercise their shared responsibility to counter threats to democracy. Their article was published in the Austin American-Statesman and the San Antonio Express News: Law Day reminder: We are a government of laws, not of men.
LDAD board member Walter Hiawatha White Jr. wrote about the International Day of Endangered Lawyer, which marks the annual observance of lawyers facing severe threats and intimidation for defending human rights and liberties. Sadly, this year’s observance focused on the United States as a place where lawyers and the rule of law are under significant threat.
In a second article for The Fulcrum, The Ku Klux Klan Returns to Power, Walter details the administration’s war on people of color, seen most recently in its lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center that appears designed to harass and intimidate an organization dedicated to exposing hate and extremism.
Meeting the Moment State Lead Monique Mattei Ferraro wrote about Elon Musk’s misguided efforts to prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence by alleging such efforts are unconstitutional. In her article for The Fulcrum, xAI Pushes Free Speech Theory Into New AI Lawsuits, Monique provided the legal basis for clarifying that a chatbot does not have constitutional rights.
In the New York Daily News, LDAD volunteer James Speyer wrote that the President’s personality is magnified in the conduct of this administration, resulting, for example, in a country where racism and cruelty are state-sanctioned, and democracy and the rule of law are attacked on a daily basis. See: Trump is remaking the United States in his image.
In another article, James provided a clear-eyed analysis of the coarseness and obsequiousness that are now on display in this administration every day. See: The Death of Dignity in Leadership.
LDAD is Meeting this Moment by educating through webinars as well. On September 19 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, we will be in conversation with UCLA Law Professor Scott Cummings to discuss Lessons from Hungary: Dismantling the Autocratic Playbook. To register, click here.
If you missed the informative conversation between LDAD Board member and Mercer Law Professor Gary Simson and the inspiring Judge David Tatel, author of Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, you may watch the webinar here.
LDAD is grateful for the ever-growing volunteer corps that is extending our reach and our voice.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
LDAD continues to work every day of the week to protect democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Please help us protect the rule of law and the freedoms we hold dear by volunteering for our Meeting the Moment initiative and donating to our work.
