Publication Date
6-2024
Document Type
Article
Abstract
American democracy is in crisis. The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol must serve as a renewed wake-up call for the legal profession. We can no longer keep our heads down, focused solely or even primarily on serving our clients, without being mindful that what we do every day as lawyers starts and ends with our duty to uphold the rule of law and our system of justice. We must acknowledge that lawyers are the ones who have put democracy at risk. Lawyers are the ones who, in their role as zealous advocates, attempted to overturn the 2020 election without a legal basis for doing so. In California, former Professor John Eastman is facing disbarment for multiple counts of seeking to mislead the court and moral turpitude (misrepresentation), and for one count of “fail[ure] to support the . . . law[] of the United States.” In her disciplinary decision, Judge Yvette D. Roland stated, “[v]igorous advocacy does not absolve Eastman of his professional responsibilities around honesty and upholding the rule of law.”
Recommended Citation
Kerew, Kendall
(2024)
"The Rule of Law, The Lawyer’s Role as a Public Citizen, and Professional Identity: How Fostering the Development of Professional Identity Can Help Law Schools Address the Crisis Facing American Democracy,"
Mercer Law Review: Vol. 75:
No.
5, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.mercer.edu/jour_mlr/vol75/iss5/6