Michael C. Dorf and Michael S. Chu. “Lawyers as Activists: From the Airport to the Courtroom” In The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement. Eds.David S. Meyer and Sidney Tarrow, pp. 127-142. New York City, U.S.: Oxford University Press, 2018.
This article highlights the crucial role lawyers played in resisting authoritarian-leaning actions during a period of democratic backsliding in the United States, specifically under the Trump administration. In response to the Travel Ban targeting nationals from majority-Muslim countries, lawyers mobilized rapidly, particularly at airports, to provide legal assistance. This mobilization was driven by coordination with nongovernmental organizations and amplified by social media. Their legal interventions resulted in initial court victories and pressured the government to revise the ban through subsequent executive orders. More broadly, the legal resistance helped expose and challenge the administration’s discriminatory and lawless tendencies, contributing to a broader movement defending civil liberties. The article argues that despite common skepticism about the limits of litigation, lawyer activism during this crisis demonstrated that legal action can be a powerful tool for social change, especially when democratic norms are under threat.