Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed an amicus brief in Perkins Coie v. Department of Justice, a case currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging an executive order that punishes the law firm Perkins Coie for providing legal representation to clients that the president views as political opponents.
The brief draws parallels to an overlooked tactic used by Southern state governments to resist school desegregation following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision: the attempted intimidation of civil rights lawyers and civil rights organizations. The brief also argues that the executive order interferes with the constitutionally protected right to counsel and unlawfully punishes Perkins Coie without due process.
“While it is chilling to witness a sitting president of the United States undermine the rule of law, the Trump administration’s attempts to undercut our country’s legal system are not entirely novel,” said Janai Nelson, LDF President and Director-Counsel. “When Jim Crow laws were challenged in the South, state governments deployed obstructionist tactics to keep civil rights organizations like the Legal Defense Fund out of the courtroom. Although the context is different from the period of massive resistance to desegregation and civil rights, this executive order is part of a broader attack on the legal profession that has disturbing echoes of that history. Today, the Administration seeks to target not only its perceived opponents, but to undermine the rule of law itself. We urge the court to reject the President’s brazen attempt to amass unchecked power and to protect the independence of the private bar.”
“If the fundamental right to counsel is impaired, the doors of our justice system will inevitably be closed to the people who need it most,” said Sam Spital, Associate Director-Counsel of LDF. “The Trump Administration’s executive orders targeting Perkins Coie and other law firms, along with the presidential memo directing the Department of Justice to seek sanctions against lawyers who file “frivolous” claims against the Administration, risk chilling lawyers, law firms, and civil society organizations from advocating for clients who seek to hold the Administration accountable for its violations of federal law. We hope the court will put an end to this dangerous assault on the legal profession and the rule of law by permanently stopping the order.”
Read the full brief here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Equal Protection Initiative seeks to defend and advance the proper interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause and anti-discrimination law so that we can all continue to advance equal opportunity for all. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
