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Deans of law schools across the country issued a joint statement Tuesday in response to last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol, calling the attack “an assault on our democracy and the rule of law.”
A total of 157 law deans signed the statement. They called this moment a rare occasion in which they must speak together about the fundamental commitments of the legal profession, to attempt to preserve its integrity and to support the rule of law.
“The effort to disrupt the certification of a free and fair election was a betrayal of the core values that undergird our Constitution,” the statement from the deans said. “Lives were lost, the seat of our democracy was desecrated, and our country was shamed.”
Many lawyers and judges worked “honestly and in good faith, often in the face of considerable political pressure,” to ensure a free and fair election in 2020, the statement continued. But the law deans “recognize with dismay and sorrow that some lawyers challenged the outcome of the election with claims that they did not support with facts or evidence.”
Those unsupported challenges betrayed the values of the legal profession, the law deans said. The legal profession requires lawyers pursuing legal action to bring claims in good faith grounded in facts and evidence.
The deans called for a sustained effort by legal educators and lawyers to restore faith in the rule of law and the ideals of the legal profession.
They did not identify by name any of the individuals or groups that worked to challenge the election or storm the Capitol.
Last week’s attack has roiled law schools and the legal profession. Thousands of law school students and alumni have petitioned for Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz to be disbarred because they led attempts in the Senate to stop Congress from counting electoral votes last week.
Cruz graduated from Harvard Law School, and Hawley graduated from Yale Law School.
The New York State Bar Association is considering expelling President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, because of comments he made before last week’s attack on the Capitol and because of his efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election in recent months. Such a move would not stop Giuliani from practicing law, because the association is a voluntary association and disbarments require a state court committee’s approval.
