Every ethical lawyer should condemn those who are threatening Judges and refusing to follow Court Orders

19 March 2025

As new attorneys, we take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. This includes accepting the power of Courts to issue orders that must be complied with. Parties that disagree with judicial decisions should appeal or take other legal actions. However, they should not threaten Judges or publicly state that they will refuse to honor the decisions. As lawyers, we must condemn lawyers and others who challenge the authority of Courts and those who threaten Judges and ensure they are punished appropriately.

When I became a licensed attorney in Michigan in 1986, I took this oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm):

I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Michigan;

I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers;

I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceeding which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land;

I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law;

I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my client, and will accept no compensation in connection with my client's business except with my client's knowledge and approval;

I will abstain from all offensive personality, and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged;

I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay any cause for lucre or malice;

I will in all other respects conduct myself personally and professionally in conformity with the high standards of conduct imposed upon members of the bar as conditions for the privilege to practice law in this State.

[emphasis added]

In addition, it appears that each Department of Justice attorney takes this oath:

I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

President Donald J. Trump (not a lawyer), Vice President J. D. Vance (a member of the Kentucky Bar) and Attorney General Pam Bondi (a member of the Florida Bar) appear to have violated these oaths. All of us, particularly lawyers, should condemn Trump, Vance and Bondi as unethical and support disciplinary action against Vance, Bondi and others acting similarly.

For example:

Vice President JD Vance declared on Sunday that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” delivering a warning shot to the federal judiciary in the face of court rulings that have, for now, stymied aspects of President Trump’s agenda.

• This is not true. Judges determine what the law is and what “legitimate power” is. They serve as a check on the Executive. Vance should know that and his declaration otherwise should be cause for a grievance against him, particularly given his prominence and the public nature of the statement that attempts to undermine the Judiciary.

President Trump and his “administration” appeared to mock the order from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that the Trump administration stop deporting anyone from the United States under the authority of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and that the planes carrying individuals to prison in El Salvador be turned around.

President Donald Trump took to social media to call Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President—He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”

This statement should be condemned by all ethical lawyers. In my opinion, it also demonstrates that Trump is deranged, if not insane, and unfit for office. In my 50+ years of adult life, I have never met any business or political leader who communicates in such a deranged manner.

Trump’s outburst led to an extraordinary public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts. “For more than two centuries,” the chief justice wrote in an issued statement, “it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Trump administration would “absolutely” continue to remove Venezuelan immigrants on deportation flights despite a ruling from a federal judge ordering them to pause their efforts. Her defiance of Court orders should also trigger a grievance, possible disbarment and removal from office.

Lawyers who publicly proclaim that Trump can disregard court orders have betrayed the legal system. Even though standing up against Trump risks his retaliation, which can be severe, lawyers are not permitted to be cowards in the face of tyranny. Those who make these unconstitutional proclamations in Court should be held in contempt and sanctioned.

Democracy is about ensuring a fair process of making political decisions. The Constitution gives the Judiciary the power to decide what the law is. Lawyers unwilling to accept this role for the Judiciary have betrayed their oaths, cannot be trusted as attorneys and should be punished.

Note: on 21Mar25, the State Bar of Michigan Leadership issued a Statement on Unprecedented Threats to Rule of Law, click here.

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