University of Wisconsin–Madison

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de Sa e Silva (2022), “Autocratic Legalism 2.0: Insights from a Global Collaborative Research Project.”

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de Sa e Silva, Fabio de. “Autocratic Legalism 2.0: Insights from a Global Collaborative Research Project.” Verfassung Und Recht in Übersee / Law and Politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America 55, no. 4 (2022): 419–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27305889. Since the early 2000s, scholars have increasingly examined the phenomenon of democratic backsliding. While legal analysis was initially peripheral …

de Sa e Silva (2020), “From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and Lawyers in Brazil’s Illiberal Turn (2014–2018)”

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  de Sa e Silva, F. (2020). From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and lawyers in Brazil’s illiberal turn (2014–2018). Journal of Law and Society, 47(S1), S51–S73. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12250   The article examines the role of law and lawyers in Brazil’s recent democratic decline. While legal professionals are often depicted as either victims of or counterforces …

Iranian Lawyer Detained Without Charges for Over Four Months

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Abolfazl Ranjbari, a lawyer and writer, has been imprisoned in Tabriz for 138 days without clear charges. Arrested by security forces on May 4, he spent two months under interrogation before being transferred to Tabriz Prison. Authorities have denied him bail, family visits, and communication. Ranjbari’s case has been referred to court, but no trial …

The Hand That Rocks The Gavel

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This American Life #868 — “The Hand That Rocks the Gavel.” Reporters spend weeks inside New York’s immigration court, where ICE detains people in courthouse hallways as immigration judges describe unprecedented pressure from the DOJ to dismiss cases and defer to enforcement. The episode reveals policy memos, mass firings, and new precedents that narrow asylum …

America’s judges are under attack – lawyers have a duty to defend them

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Threats against judges are on the rise — with more than 500 reported in the last year alone. From executive branch officials to political commentators, attacks are increasingly aimed at delegitimizing the courts. This escalation threatens the very foundation of judicial independence and risks discouraging qualified candidates from serving on the bench. The authors, leaders …

Major changes needed to address bullying and harassment at the Bar, report finds

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A major review led by Baroness Harriet Harman has uncovered a “culture of denial” at the Bar in England and Wales, where bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct are widespread and often go unpunished. The 129-page report describes a “cohort of untouchables” protected by silence, fear, and a broken complaints system that leaves victims without justice. …

ABA Task Force Calls on Lawyers to Pledge to Protect Democracy and Rule of Law

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The American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy has recommended that every U.S. state expand lawyer oaths to include a commitment to upholding democracy and the rule of law. The proposal comes amid declining public trust in government and legal institutions, after a two-year bipartisan review led by former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson …

Afghan Women Judges Left in Peril Without Asylum Support

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Since the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s female judges and prosecutors have lived under constant threat. Once respected leaders, they are now forced into hiding, facing intimidation, violence, and social erasure. Many cannot seek medical care or work openly, and their pleas for asylum have gone unanswered. Despite petitions and UK relocation schemes, progress has …

Painter (2024), “Avoision: When Go oision: When Government Lawy ernment Lawyers Turn the So urn the Sovereign Against eign Against Itself”

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The article Avoision: When Government Lawyers Turn the Sovereign Against Itself (Case Western Reserve Law Review, 2024) argues that when government lawyers engage in “avoision”—working at the edge of legality to help political superiors achieve their goals—they fundamentally betray their real client, which is the law itself. Richard W. Painter shows how practices such as …

Lawyer Arrests in Zimbabwe Worry Rights Groups

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Two Zimbabwean human rights lawyers, Douglas Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi, were arrested after advising police not to interrogate their hospitalized clients—opposition activists who reported being abducted and tortured. Rights groups say the arrests amount to the “criminalization of the profession” and an attack on lawyers’ independence. Both lawyers, members of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, …