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SLO County Bar Association supports rule of law

April 16, 2025

Statement from the San Luis Obispo County Bar Association

The San Luis Obispo County Bar Association stands together with and in support of the
American Bar Association (“ABA”) to defend the Rule of Law and reject efforts to undermine the courts and the legal profession.

In particular, as outlined by the ABA:

We endorse the sentiments expressed by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in his 2024 year end report on the federal judiciary, “within the past year we have also seen the need for state and federal bar associations to come to the defense of a federal district judge whose decisions in a high-profile case prompted an elected official to call for her impeachment.

Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.”

We support the right of people to advance their interests in courts of law when they have
been wronged. We reject the notion that the U.S. government can punish lawyers and law firms who represent certain clients or punish judges who rule certain ways. We cannot accept government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice in this manner.

We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession. We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not. Words and actions matter. And the intimidating words and actions we have heard and seen must end. They are designed to cow our country’s judges, our country’s courts and our legal profession.

There are clear choices facing our profession. We can choose to remain silent and allow
these acts to continue or we can stand for the rule of law and the values we hold dear. We
call upon the entire profession, including lawyers in private practice from Main Street to Wall Street, as well as those in corporations and who serve in elected positions, to speak out against intimidation.

If lawyers do not speak, who will speak for our judges? Who will protect our bedrock of
justice? If we do not speak now, when will we speak? Now is the time. That is why we stand together with the ABA in support of the Rule of Law.

 


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Roy Cohn started this bullshit. He taught Trump. Now it’s infesting our communities.


1

In my opinion, this is disgusting and offensive propaganda. I note that there is no name on it. Makes it easier for the author. Unlike me, the author probably enjoys nearly total immunity from everything.

“We endorse the … Supreme Court… 2024 year end [sic] report…” Well, it can’t be Trump’s fault then, because he was not president when this report came out.

“…we can stand for the rule of law…”. What rule of law? The one for police and government employees, or the one for peons who are powerless to stop the steam roller of injustice.

“We cannot accept government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice.” The judiciary IS the government, and isn’t twisting the scales of justice exactly what they do?

Elected officials appoint, advise and consent to the appointment of federal judges. During that process, federal judicial candidates make all sorts of statements (read obfuscation) and say whatever it takes to get their appointment. I think those elected officials have every right to question judges when they are suspected of having done something which makes their prior statements a lie under oath.

The background of many (possibly most) federal judges is from prosecution and it appears to me that they have a propensity to side with the prosecution. Injustice is so prevalent that it has become the norm. It appears to me that police are mostly thugs that enjoy violence and inflicting pain or worse. The judiciary protects them with a silly concept they themselves created called qualified immunity (a concept never created by any elected official).

They left a word out of this sentence. “We support the right of [wealthy] people to advance their interests in courts of law when they have been wronged.” By this I mean wealthy in both money and time, because it takes a sh..load of both to “advance” one’s “interests”.

Maybe the only thing I agree with is that “We reject the notion that the U.S. government can punish lawyers and law firms who represent certain clients”. But why is this protection limited to lawyers and law firms? Everyone should have this protection.

“Who will protect our bedrock of justice?” Give me a break from this crap.


4

So the bar is saying there is no such thing as a corrupt judge? Don’t judges sometimes misinterpret laws? Yes of course and we have an appeal process to higher courts but that takes along time and is expensive. The impeachment process is a legitimate way to deal with elected and appointed officials that do not measure up to the high standard required for their position. This process is embedded in the constitution for a reason correct?


15

A judicial system doesn’t seem to work when judicial rulings are procured through officers of the court that disregard their fiduciary, ethical and lawful duties as both private and public sector attorneys and fiduciaries including systems riddled with conflicts of interest. Shouldn’t judicial rulings achieved under such circumstances be unquestionably challenged under any and all circumstances?


17

One thing that neither the members of the Bar Association nor the Court wants to acknowledge is that the system only works because it is propped up by men with guns, ie. law enforcement. Break faith with the public enough times and no one, including LE, with pay heed to anything the Court says. Pray that never happens because if it does the end of the American system of government will be at hand.


21

It only works because We agreed to make it work.

We do not get our rights from law enforcement they come from our collective voice to self govern.


We choose to do so without violence, which gives us legitimacy.

But it only takes 3.5% of any population to incite a revolution. If you don’t respect the courts you don’t respect our system of government. Plain and simple.

Good luck with the violent rhetoric. I for one am tired of it all.


-2

You misunderstand my point. The power of judges is illusory. You are correct that the system works because we all agree to make it work. When any government official or branch breaks the trust of the people through their actions or inaction it erodes the “buy in” of the people. This applies to judges as well as elected officials, agents of the government ie. police officers, city clerks, building inspectors, etc.

I don’t advocate anything other than every government official take a moment each day and remind themselves they only hold power because the people granted it to them and we can revoke it if they break our trust.


17

And elected officials take an oath to the Constitution when elected. And when they act against the rule of law they should be held accountable.


16

So, should the courts be ignored and a man left to rot without due process? Really that is what this is all about.

What assurances does anyone have, citizen or not, of due process if this is our President’s position? You know the nazi’s liked to disappear people too. Following the law was hard.


Who’s breaking the faith at this point is the question.

Your position gives one permission structure to ignore the courts, but in doing so you undermine our entire system of government.

You don’t get it both ways.

Love it. Warts and all.


0

of, by, and for.. Certain people!


1

Idiots all


0

I really hope people, Really, understand, this is due to Trumps administration complete and total disregard for the courts. How many people here are convicted of 34 felonies and forced to award a woman you molested millions then crape on the judges and We the People. How many of his cabinet went to Prison; a Fk Ton.

Matt Gatez anyone? Epstein and Trump anyone; or are you OK with pedophilia in this conservative, oh so religious county? I sure as he’ll am not a felon, a convicted rapist, or a Pedophile or an affiliate of Pedophiles. But I HAVE to pay taxes as a lower income person, rich people hide it, trade kids. Hire slave labor. Who built Trumps empire? Immigrants; yup.


-39

There are over 1,750 judges authorized across the 209 courts in the United States federal court system. This includes judges from district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. Letting any one of them over-ride the duly elected President of the United States’ decisions is ridiculous, and dangerous.


25

How about Trump just pay attention to the SCOTUS. When a duly elected president goes off the rails the federal court system are the safety barriers. Or at least should be.


17

The more dangerous option is to allow a single person to direct the federal government to violate the US constitution without any way to quickly stop active violations.


Imagine the shoe on the other foot. If President AOC ordered all guns confiscated or evangelicals deported to Cuban prisons, you would certainly be a lot more interested in a pause button on unchecked unitary executive power. We live in a democracy, in 4-8 years the odds are at least 50/50 the other party will have the power you seek to unleash.


11

To clarify–the USA is actually a constitutional republic, not a democracy.


20

We’re both right. By strict definition you’re of course right – we are a federal constitutional Republic, but we are also a representative democracy which colloquially is understood as just “democracy”. It isn’t wrong to say that the UK or France are fellow free democratic countries; technically one is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy and the other is a semi-presidential republic… But no one says that because the 10k foot view is that all three of us are governments by the people and for the people. In my original post I was using democracy as a casual phrase to mean our small l liberal system of government, not how Greek city states worked 3000 years ago.


9

Hard to believe the BAR association needs to put out this kind of statement. Wonder why? Never mind, I know why…


43

I really think people think this is somehow aimed at Obama, or Biden. Which, is really a sad state of affairs and a total failure of pre College education.


-3

Agreed. When we are seeing an administration defying the rule of law and disregarding the Constitution. With a bunch of sycophants supporting it.


1