Read a PDF of our statement here.
Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed amicus briefs supporting law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale in their respective lawsuits to permanently block the implementation of executive orders that punish the firms for providing legal representation to clients that the President views as political opponents. Both cases are currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Similar to an amicus brief LDF filed in Perkins Coie v. Department of Justice this week, today’s briefs draw 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 briefs also argue that the executive orders interfere with the constitutionally protected right to counsel and unlawfully punish the firms without due process.
Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel at LDF released the following statement:
“The Trump Administration has mounted a concerted and unprecedented attack on the legal profession. This week alone, the Legal Defense Fund has filed amicus briefs in cases involving Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale, and called on the University of Michigan Law School to ensure equal access to educational opportunities in response to a troubling email their law students received threatening harm to their future careers.
We know that lawyers play a critical role in holding those in power accountable and ensuring equal justice under the law. That is why we will not stand idly by while the administration or other groups attempt to undermine our legal system and attack civil rights lawyers.
The Trump Administration’s executive orders put the fundamental right to counsel at risk and threatens to close the doors of our justice system to the people who need it most. We stand in solidarity with our legal colleagues who have come under fire, and we will continue defending the rule of law with every tool at our disposal. 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 Trump Administration’s executive orders.”
Read the full brief submitted in WilmerHale v. Executive Office of the President here.
Read the full brief submitted in Jenner & Block v. Department of Justice 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.
