It’s easy to be critical of Indiana, and especially of the collection of ideologues, MAGA wanna-bes and invertebrates who dominate our state legislature, so it is especially gratifying when an Indiana organization speaks up for democratic governance and the rule of law.
That organization–hopefully, one among many to come–is the Indiana Bar, the organization that represents the legal profession in Indiana. A few days ago, the president of the Bar association released the following statement. In normal times, this statement would be anodyne–a “this is who we are” reminder to citizens who may not appreciate the role of law and lawyers in maintaining stability and civic fairness. But in the Age of Trump and MAGA, it is a heartfelt and incredibly important reaffirmation of the importance of the rule of law and the determination of lawyers to protect it.
Here is that letter.
Each year on May 1, Law Day offers a moment to reflect on the foundational principles that shape our democracy. Chief among them is the Rule of Law, a concept that not only guides our profession but ensures a just and orderly society.
But what exactly is the Rule of Law? And why does it matter?
At its core, the Rule of Law means that no one is above the law and that laws are applied fairly and consistently. It guarantees that our rights and liberties are protected through transparent legal processes. The Rule of Law empowers a parent to challenge a school policy, enables a small business owner to enforce a contract, and protects a citizen who questions government actions. It ensures that power is exercised within bounds, and that all individuals are held accountable under the same legal standards.
The Rule of Law also depends on an impartial and independent judiciary. It is enshrined in both our U.S. and Indiana Constitutions and has long served as a safeguard against tyranny and injustice. Further, under our system of justice, everyone has a right to representation. Lawyers must be free to represent clients without fear of retribution, and clients must be free to choose their counsel without worry of sanction. Our country’s founders, having lived through systems of unchecked authority, built our country rooted in the idea that the rule of law must govern.
Speaking during the first National Law Day in 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “The clearest way to show what the Rule of Law means to us in everyday life is to be reminded of what happens when there is no Rule of Law.” He saw this firsthand during World War II while battling Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. His words remain relevant as we consider the global and domestic challenges that test the strength of our institutions today.
Respect for the Rule of Law is not a given; it must be valued and actively upheld by each generation. One of the greatest threats today is a growing misunderstanding of the Rule of Law. We see its benefits in every trial and every instance of due process. As legal professionals, we have a duty not only to follow the law, but to promote it. That means defending judicial independence, the ability of attorneys to zealously represent clients, and protecting the right of all people to be heard.
President Ronald Reagan put it succinctly: “True peace rests on the pillars of individual freedom, human rights, national self-determination, and respect for the Rule of Law.”
President John F. Kennedy likewise offered this reminder: “Only a respect for the law makes it possible for free people to dwell together in peace and progress… Certain other countries may respect the rule of force. We respect the Rule of Law.”
These ideals are not partisan. They are foundational.
The Indiana State Bar Association stands firm in this commitment. We believe that the Rule of Law is more than a professional ideal, it is the bedrock of our civic life. And we call on every Hoosier attorney, judge, legal professional, and citizen to join us in protecting and promoting it. If the Rule of Law suffers, we all suffer. If the Rule of Law is threatened, we are all threatened. By deeply understanding its significance, honoring its principles, and vigorously defending it, we ensure that the Rule of Law, America’s foundation, endures undiminished.
Let this Law Day be not only a commemoration, but a recommitment.
Michael Jasaitis
ISBA President
Kudos to the Indiana Bar Association!!
There are two kinds of thinking going on in America here and now. Rational thinking and rationalized thinking. Ask yourself why folks would try to justify their thinking about who Musk, Trump, Vance, Johnson, the Executive Branch Cabinet, and 5 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices are?
I’m sorry, but that was a big nothing burger. I was hoping they would be a little more specific with their claims of impropriety in Indianapolis, like Governor Braun’s last-minute siege of IU. They could have pointed out countless issues in Indianapolis that negatively impact the state.
A recent report about all the toxic lakes in Indiana, including Brookville and Geist, is floating around. Sadly, the article blames the pollution caused by chemical runoff from all the crop fields in Indiana. #nope
While weed killers negatively impact our waterways, the worst impact is all our CAFOs in the state dumping urine and feces into ALL our waterways via tiles from their manure lagoons. Whenever a CAFO is found guilty, our corrupt politicians change the law to prevent environmental organizations and journalists from holding CAFOs accountable.
Remember all those YouTube videos of farm laborers abusing animals on the farms or using forklifts to pick up cows too weak to walk because they live in cramped quarters? It’s now illegal to put videos on YouTube. It’s also illegal for a journalist to use a drone to fly over a CAFO and film the drainage tiles from the manure lagoons. It’s also illegal to sign a fake job application to get hired so you can spy on the farms and take pictures of the abuse.
In other words, instead of holding the CAFOs accountable for polluting EVERY SINGLE WATERWAY in Indiana, our corrupt politicians hold the people responsible for holding the CAFOs accountable. Isn’t that special??
Google and Facebook assist the government by removing pictures or videos uploaded to their platforms and turning over the sources to the Department of Homeland Security or the State Police.
Instead of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management doing its job, one of the state’s nonprofits assists individual volunteers (Water Rangers) in testing local water near CAFOs to see what is being discharged into our water.
Lawyers practice the laws enacted by our lawmakers. When will Hoosier lawyers take a real stand against the fraud, corruption, and collusion?
So clear and uplifting. I could hope that all Americans would read this AND respect it and live by it. Thank you for sharing.
Todd makes good points about CAFOs and how the state legislature protects them. However, the legislature also protects other polluters. Duke Energy and others created leaking coal ash ponds. After the state supreme court’s decision that Duke Energy could not force customers to pay for the extremely cleanup of those ponds, their attorneys and lobbyists created a bill Gov Holcomb signed that does allow them to the bill customers even though as their profit margins have increased exponentially over the past 5-10 years. Owning stock in Duke means knowing that you will never have to worry about a loss in value.
I would love to see the agreement that Paul Wuss signed. Was it with the US government or with Orange Jesus (OJ)? Or, perhaps it might have been a combination of the two? I just can’t fathom OJ coming to an agreement on anything that doesn’t benefit him personally. BTW, everyone says that those who have come to an agreement with OJ have bent a knee. That’s too kind. The bend is higher than that.
Todd, Sheila’s post addressed the principle of the rule of law and why it is a necessary aspect of liberal democracy.
Without it all that is left is authoritarian rule.
You seem to prefer wrestling with some specific laws in your state.
Without the principle, no specifics are possible. That’s what we see evidence of being attacked in DC.
Kudos to the Bar Association.
“The Rule of Law empowers a parent to challenge a school policy, enables a small business owner to enforce a contract, and protects a citizen who questions government actions.”
Not bad, two out of three are “Right on” – parents’ bill of rights stuff and questioning the government – coincidence there are no examples of civil rights or corporate malfeasance? – Pure legal PR crap.
Todd, Bravo! I’m with you on this one.
Pete, Those principles of the rule of law are missing in the Indiana State Legislature and have been for most of my life here. How else have we come to this polluted and anti-freedom of the press mess we live in?
Let’s see. The ISBA could speak out for the rule of law or not. They speak out for it and some of you immediately attack them. C’mon folks. Take a win without bitching about it!
Sharon and others, the ISBA wrote a generic letter about the rule of law on “Legal Day!!”
Not sure how you consider that a win when they didn’t take a stand for or against any breach of those laws. It would be like talking about black history while not mentioning racism.
I wouldn’t even say they were fence-sitting. What about all the migrants in our state having their rights violated? What about the people living in “Asthma Alley” in Southern Indiana who have to breathe toxic air?
Here’s an idea: they could have volunteered to represent the Hoosier Environmental Council pro bono for two years to help file lawsuits against the state, forcing them to have the oligarchy clean up our entire state from the messes it’s made. What about representing the college kids being kicked off campus for protesting a genocide?
If the ISBA had made those offers and/or recommendations, I would have applauded them for a job well done.
Yeah Todd! Welcome to the informal club of “callers out of virtue posturers”! There’s PR and there’s spine….
At least they made Some effort,
even though we all know that above the law/ fair & even, is pretty much a joke.
Just wondering whether any of the scads of The Duck’s lawyers are members of the Indiana bar….wouldn’t bet against it.
Rule of law versus due process under the law!
Was there due process in Nazi Germany? Was there due process in imperial Japan? Was there due process in fascist Italy? Is there due process in China? Is there due process in Russia? Was there due process in Iraq? Was there due process or is there due process in Iran?
Due process is related to the rule of law, it’s an example of the rule of law. But what if the law is not fair? What if the law is broken? What if the law is not a protectorate of citizens in any particular country? Who would want to be beholding to due process under the law in these above listed countries or governments?
The rule of law then is useless when it comes to civil and human rights. And, due process under the law is something that nobody would want to be a part of. Because it would just authorize and approve mistreatment of citizens, and the revocation of rights!
When you have a government re-explaining or reorganizing the rights of men and women, human rights, changing the meaning, changing the focus, then you have a huge problem that courts cannot solve. The government, and the laws that it goes by, are only as good as the government itself. Writings on paper are just that, paper, paper tigers? They are not very durable.
That’s why you see ICE arresting folks at the courthouses trying to get due process for themselves, this is a warning for everyone. If the government is willing to do that concerning immigrants, then the government will gladly do that against citizens and find out a way to make those folks voices disappear either inside or outside of this country. There is no fence sitting. Humanity has shown that they show a great disdain for their fellow humans concerning rights and law.
Lester – I don’t know if Jim Bopp has been involved in any of trump’s legal battles, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He is a member of the IN bar assn and federalist society. He was the lead/main attorney that won the supreme court case for Citizens United. He lives in Terre Haute.
There are a lot of good lawyers who work hard to maintain the rule of law and fight injustice on a regular basis. My Dad was a lawyer who after fighting in WWll went to IU law school on the GI Bill. He took up workers compensation cases when he started and expanded to big explosion, accident cases as he matured. He had an engineering degree before going into the army. He wasn’t work shy and was grounded by facts and the law.
WWll lawyers knew how bad things could get without rule of law, and a bad day at the office wasn’t getting shot at with aim to kill.
Sounds like Todd’s example is a lawsuit in the making. Rule of law is a civil way to get things done right.
Kudos to retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David, who has been touting, spreading, and living the motto of Rule of Law – Always for his entire career.
I recently watched “The Mauritanian” on Netflix. It’s a clearcut example of what/how bad things can get when rule of law isn’t respected or followed. You can’t just disappear people to a foreign prison without charges.