Law Professor on Unprecedented Attacks on the Judiciary and Presidential Power

Unprecedented Judicial Attacks

• 🚨 Law professor Kate Shaw identifies current attacks on the judiciary by government officials as unprecedented.
• 💬 While tension between elected officials and judges is not new, the current rhetoric includes personal attacks on judges' families, a new escalation.
• ⚖️ Proposals to impeach federal judges for the substance of their rulings, rather than serious misconduct like bribery, are also a concerning new development.

Threats to the Rule of Law

• 🏛️ Shaw agrees that these attacks are part of a concerted effort to attack the rule of law.
• 🚫 The core constitutional principle is limits on power, and the current path risks few meaningful checks on the president.
• 🎯 Attacks on judges and law firms appear designed to neutralize countervailing authority and opposition to the administration.

Intimidation Tactics

• 🍕 Coordinated efforts to intimidate judges and their families include sending pizzas to their residences, signaling that their addresses are known.
• ⚠️ Some messages, like referencing the murdered son of a judge, carry a very clear and serious threat.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The inclusion of judges' family members in these attacks amplifies the danger to them.

Broader Context of Power

• ⚡ The administration is also targeting law firms, potentially making them afraid to take on unpopular causes.
• 📉 If judges and law firms are intimidated, there are no meaningful checks on presidential power.
• ⚠️ Shaw worries about a path toward few, if any, meaningful limits on the president.