The Trump Administration and the Rule of Law Under Pressure
Criminal law expert David Sklansky on DOJ independence, judicial norms, and law firms under attack
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Show Notes
On March 6, President Trump issued the executive order “Addressing Risk from Perkins Coie LLP,” essentially preventing the firm from doing business with the federal government, stripping its staff of security clearances. It was the first of several presidential orders aimed at law firms that represented clients and/or employed attorneys at odds with Trump.
At the same time, Trump and members of his administration have voiced loud opposition to judges who rule against him and, in what many see as a weaponization of justice, have fired members of the Department of Justice without cause. Even the new Attorney General Pam Bondi is breaking with long held protocol by openly defending the administration, taking a partisan position when defending her decision not to investigate the Signal scandal of top national security officers sharing war plans via the public ap, saying: “If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was in Hillary Clinton’s home. Talk about the classified documents in Joe Biden’s garage that Hunter Biden had access to.”
Are the norms and practices that have maintained the rule of law in the United States straining under the pressure of the Trump administration?
Stanford Law Professor David Sklansky, a criminal law expert, joins Pam Karlan for a look at the first 100 days of the Trump administration—and the unprecedented number of executive orders targeting rule of law norms. Sklansky, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center who teaches and writes about policing, prosecution, criminal law, and the law of evidence, is the author, most recently of Criminal Justice in Divided America: Police, Punishment, and the Future of Our Democracy, was published earlier this year by Harvard University Press. Earlier he practiced labor law in Washington D.C. and served as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles.
Links:
- David Sklansky >>> Stanford Law page
Criminal Justice in Divided America >>> Stanford Law page
Connect:
- Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast Website
- Stanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn Page
- Rich Ford >>> Twitter/X
- Pam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School Page
- Stanford Law School >>> Twitter/X
- Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X
(00:00:00) The Rule of Law and Executive Orders
(00:15:01) Legal Profession's Response to Political Pressure
(00:27:01) Impact on Universities and Academic Freedom
(00:37:01) Redefining Pro Bono Work
(00:44:42) The Importance of the Rule of Law
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