Opinion | Federal Justice Department twists attorney ethics into misconduct; The Minnesota Star Tribune, August 10, 2025

Rob Doar , The Minnesota Star Tribune; Opinion | Federal Justice Department twists attorney ethics into misconduct

"As a bilingual advocate working in public defense, I regularly represent Spanish-speaking clients in Minnesota, many of whom have varying immigration statuses. My job is straightforward yet demanding: ensuring my clients receive competent, fair and loyal representation. My ethical obligations are clear: I must protect my clients’ rights, safeguard their interests and work tirelessly to resolve their cases justly. For many public defense clients, the stakes couldn’t be higher, as a criminal conviction could result in devastating immigration consequences.

“A lawyer must, to the extent consistent with the lawyer’s other legal duties, act with reasonable diligence and promptness to advance the client’s lawful objectives, as defined by the client.”

Stop bending the knee to Trump: it’s time for anticipatory noncompliance; The Guardian, June 8, 2025

David Kirp, The Guardian; Stop bending the knee to Trump: it’s time for anticipatory noncompliance

"Fearing Hurricane Donald, a host of universities, law firms, newspapers, public schools and Fortune 500 companies have rushed to do his bidding, bowing before he even comes calling. Other institutions cower, in hopes that they will go unnoticed.

But this behavior, which social scientists call “anticipatory compliance”, smoothes the way to autocracy because it gives the Trump regime unlimited power without his having to lift a finger. Halting autocracy in its tracks demands a counter-strategy – let’s call it anticipatory noncompliance...

Restoring democracy is no easy task, for it is infinitely easier to destroy than rebuild. It will take a years-long fight that deploys an arsenal of tactics, ranging from mass demonstrations and consumer boycotts to litigation and political organizing. It’s grueling work, but if autocracy is to be defeated there’s no option. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” observed James Baldwin, in a 1962 New York Times article. A half-century later, that message still rings true."