National Law Day holds weight this year as Trump administration is accused of sidestepping due process.
A crowd of attorneys gathered on the steps of the Whatcom County Courthouse May 1 to reassure the community that they are committed to upholding the Constitution at a time when — as some professionals have alleged — the public’s trust in the justice system is dwindling.
“You are reaffirming your oath at a time where our dedication and our life’s work feels as though they are under attack,” said Whatcom Superior Court Presiding Judge David Freeman from the podium.
Law Day is an annual celebration of the rule of law. This year, in line with the theme “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One,” Whatcom attorneys answered the Washington State Bar Association’s call to join many of their colleagues around the state in retaking the Oath of Attorney and to renew their commitment to preserve the community’s confidence in the legal system.
In a press release, bar association President Sunitha Anjilvel emphasized the importance of upholding the Constitution in a time of increasing division. The rule of law depends upon lawyers to challenge government overreach, she said.
Led by Freeman, community members and judges raised their right hands and joined attorneys from different areas of the law in reciting the same eight pledges they took when they joined the legal profession.
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Slattery, who co-hosted the event with attorneys Rajeev Majumdar and Kirsten Barron, said in an interview that many judges and lawyers have been feeling under pressure after some comments made by the executive branch of the federal government.
Earlier this year, the American Bar Association made statements accusing the administration of questioning the legitimacy of judicial review, as well as targeting judges and lawyers for issuing decisions and representing parties the administration doesn’t agree with.
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the government from hiring Perkins Coie, the Seattle-based law firm that represented Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign in 2016. On May 6, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled the order violated free speech and due process.
Majumdar, the former president of the Washington State Bar Association, said in an interview that people on all sides of the political spectrum “should be concerned with the idea that due process is under threat.”
In March, Trump used the Alien Enemies Act — which was last invoked during World War II — to deport non-citizens accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang without a trial.
Over the past month, three federal judges in Texas, Colorado and New York, citing the Fifth Amendment’s statement that “no person” shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law,” blocked the administration from using the act to deport immigrants from their respective districts without due process.
“If you don’t get to have your day in court, you never get a shot of justice,” Majumdar told the Salish Current.
Majumdar also worries people may feel disheartened by what he said are double standards “applied by the government,” where people guilty of committing relatively minor offenses are disproportionately penalized while some of those who committed serious offenses seem to be immune from the consequences.
“The public’s confidence in the rule of law and the legal system is eroding,” he said in his speech.
San Juan
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jon Cain told Salish Current he has yet to see a shift in people’s attitude toward the justice system in San Juan County, where he works, and hopes that stays true.
While attending the county’s second annual Law Day event, Cain felt encouraged to see seventh graders thrilled to tour the courthouse, participate in a mock trial and attend a civic lesson and a career panel. Their engagement with the topic and their excitement to know they can get involved, he said, are a good sign for the future of democracy.
When it comes to concerns, he pointed to budget cuts at the federal level and potential impacts on the work of government attorneys like himself.
Skagit
At Skagit Valley College, Skagit Legal Aid hosted the yearly Law Day Clinic where 16 volunteer attorneys offered services at no charge to about 40 people, according to Skagit County Bar Association President Austin Hellman.
The event was preceded and followed by two oath renewal ceremonies, one held at the courthouse and the other — which happens every year — at the Majestic Inn in Anacortes, according to Hellman and Skagit County Superior Court Presiding Judge Elizabeth Neidzwski.
Without taking a stance on the current political landscape, Neidzwski, who had never re-sworn a lawyer before, said the ceremony was a reminder of the importance of applying the law fairly in a country that was founded on the rule of law; in addition, Hellman sees the oath renewal as an empowering way to build camaraderie within the lawyer community, where attorneys may have different reasons to reaffirm their oath.
The dinner at the Majestic Inn also featured Washington Supreme Court Justice Salvador A. Mungia as the keynote speaker and an awards ceremony that recognized volunteer attorneys, community organizations and non-attorneys who had an impact on their community, Hellman said.
Despite these contributions, Hellman said the local law community has seen a decrease in involvement with each other and the public since the pandemic’s influence on workplace culture. As a response to this change, the association has been providing more opportunities for attorneys to connect with one another and stay up to date with the latest developments at the local, state and national level to be a better resource to the community.
The rule of law
As stated in the preamble to the lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers should foster the public’s understanding of and confidence in the law because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on the support and participation of the public to maintain their authority.
In line with this principle, the state bar association launched The Rule of Law Ambassador Program, which will support attorneys in educating and engaging with their communities and making people feel empowered to use their voice in protecting the foundations of the country’s constitutional democracy, said Katrina Tabari, senior legal editor of the Washington State Bar Association.
The ambassador tool kit can be found at wsba.org/ambassador-toolkit.
— By Luisa Loi
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Commentary: The rule of law,” March 3, 2025
• “Whatcom County clients seek bilingual legal professionals,” Feb. 17, 2025
• “Legal field sees increased diversity; progress still needed,” Jan. 10, 2025
• “WWU community grapples with post-election uncertainty in a new Trump era,” Nov. 15, 2024
• “Continuing case backlog slows wheels of justice,” Oct. 22, 2021