The rule of law is the bedrock of our democracy, and courts and their judges play a critical role. Their independence is integral to maintaining the integrity of our legal system and ensuring that our system is equal and just to all. We must defend the rule of law and the judges who uphold it.
The District 18 Bar stands firmly in support of an independent judiciary as indispensable to preservation of the rule of law. Resistance to efforts to undermine the integrity of the courts and the legal profession is a duty. When we took our oaths for licensure, we subscribed to the standards of the Rules of Professional Responsibility. The Preamble to those Rules states it is a lawyer’s duty “to uphold the legal process” and , “when necessary, to challenge the rectitude of official action.” The Preamble to the Rules we are all swore to follow also stresses the importance of not being quiet about it:
[A] lawyer should further the public’s understanding of and confidence in in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.
The impartial application of the law is essential to maintaining public trust in our legal institutions, and we oppose any attempts to erode judicial independence, which will adversely impact that trust.
The District 18 Bar remains committed to promoting access to justice, supporting judicial independence and supporting the legal community in its role guardians of the rule of law.
– James E. Williams Jr.