ACS Condemns Executive Orders, Calls on Legal Profession to Defend Those Targeted by Administration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

Washington, D.C.  – The American Constitution Society released the following statement in response to the Trump administration's latest round of targeted executive orders:

"The American Constitution Society condemns President Trump for using the weight of government to punish people and institutions with whom he disagrees. This is a trend that has accelerated in recent days, chilling free speech and disrespecting the fundamental constitutional right embodied in the First Amendment to express one’s views without government reprisal.

In executive order after executive order, the President has directed that government funding, contracts, security clearances, future employment, loan forgiveness, and other government benefits be withheld from people, states, corporations, and institutions that express values or ideas different than his. The President is attempting to use executive orders to punish those who value diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; acknowledge the dignity and healthcare needs of transgender people; serve the public interest in a manner the President disfavors; and, in two recent executive orders, lawyers who represent or have represented politically disfavored people or legal positions.

Like many of the most egregiously unlawful executive orders, the attacks on lawyers strike at the heart of the First Amendment right to free speech and association, and furthermore, would undermine the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. These two executive orders specifically name clients that the targeted law firms represent or represented whom the President considers his political “enemies.”

As the largest progressive legal network, with more than 200 lawyer and student chapters across the country, ACS knows how critical it is that lawyers and law firms be free from government coercion when deciding whether to represent a client or category of clients or assert a legitimate legal argument. We also know that practicing law is a privilege, one that comes with the responsibility to stand up to lawlessness and place ourselves between those who would strip away constitutional rights and those from whom they would strip them.

ACS stands with our lawyer members, the future lawyers in our student chapters, and all lawyers who refuse to capitulate to the threats, both explicit and implicit, that the executive orders targeting lawyers and law firms embody. By supporting politically disfavored people, communities, and institutions that are also targets of this administration’s unconstitutional attacks, lawyers provide both solidarity and, critically, the legal representation we will need to preserve our legal and constitutional rights. We will not be intimidated."

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
The American Constitution Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others, our mission is to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that redress the founding failures of our Constitution, strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and realize the promise of equality for all, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically excluded communities. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org.