News
This section features curated news articles on the role of lawyers and judges in democratic decline in the U.S. and globally. It highlights how legal professionals are implicated in, impacted by, or push back against authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.
Each post includes a brief summary or commentary that connects current events to broader scholarly debates on the legal profession and the defense of democratic norms.
News Regarding Lawyers
Lawyers Against Democratic Decline
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China: Human Rights Lawyer Jailed Over Planned EU Meeting Must Be Truly Free After Release
In April 2026, Amnesty International led an international call for China to guarantee that human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng would be released without restrictions upon completing a three-year prison sentence imposed after…
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Attorney General Ellison demands that federal attorneys adhere to ethics standards
On April 7, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general in filing a formal comment opposing a proposed DOJ rule (OAG199) that would require state bar…
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State Attorneys General Challenge Trump Mail Voting Order
A coalition of Democratic officials from 23 states, including several state attorneys general and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, has sued the Trump administration over a new executive order that seeks to impose…
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Search ABA News & Insights ABA News & Insights April 02, 2026 ABA amicus brief supports law firms targeted by executive orders
The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in April 2026, urging the court to affirm lower court rulings striking down Trump…
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Democratic AGs file 100th lawsuit against Trump
Democratic attorneys general have filed their 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration as part of a coordinated legal strategy, claiming wins in 55 of 67 cases that have reached court rulings so…
Attacks Against Legal Profession
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A key criminal case could soon get tossed because of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s comments
CNN reported on April 11 that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s public statements about Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran national whom the government wrongly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador…
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Indonesia: Hold Perpetrators of Acid Attack Against Human Rights Defender Andrie Yunus Accountable
In early April 2026, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) renewed calls for the Indonesian government to hold accountable all those responsible for the March 12 acid attack on human rights…
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Trump’s Claim That the Law Firms He Has Attacked Are Trying to Silence Him Is Truly Bizarre
The Trump administration has been engaged in a legal battle against several prominent law firms — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey — after issuing executive orders targeting them…
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Pakistan: End the unjust detention and immediately release human rights defender Idris Khattak, facing life-threatening health risk
UN human rights experts issued an urgent appeal on April 2, 2026, demanding Pakistan immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Idris Khattak, who has been detained for over six years following…
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Legal and human rights organisations condemn the conviction of Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang
On March 23, 2026, Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang was sentenced to five years in prison and fined approximately $14,500 USD by a court in Hunan Province on charges of “inciting…
Lawyers Facilitating Democratic Decline
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Justice Department Repeatedly Making Unforced Errors Under Trump
The Washington Times reported on April 12 that senior DOJ officials themselves attribute the department’s growing courtroom difficulties to three compounding factors: the sheer volume of litigation (particularly immigration cases), an unprecedented…
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Iran’s Revolutionary Courts Deploy “Maximum Elimination” Strategy Against Dissidents on Eve of New Year
On March 24, 2026 — the eve of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year — human rights organizations documented a new phase in Iran’s systematic use of judicial institutions to suppress political dissent,…
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Hungary Refuses to Enforce ICC Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu, Parliament Ratifies ICC Withdrawal
As of March 20, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government was poised to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged crimes against…
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Pro-Trump attorneys push executive order that would give Trump sweeping power over elections: Sources
According to ABC News, a network of pro-Trump attorneys and allies is promoting a 17-page draft executive order that they say could give President Donald Trump sweeping authority over how U.S. elections…
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EU sanctions Russian officials over trials, prisons and crackdowns on dissent
The European Union imposed sanctions on eight Russian individuals over alleged serious human rights violations, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and actions undermining democracy and the rule of law in…
News Regarding Judges
Targets and Resistance
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Administration fires 2 immigration judges who ruled against deporting Palestinian rights advocates
The Trump administration fired two immigration judges this past weekend who had earlier dismissed deportation cases against two pro-Palestinian student activists. Judge Roopal Patel had ruled there were no grounds to deport…
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Under Trump, DOJ Makes Errors in Court, Testing Judges’ Patience
A Bloomberg Law report from April 10, 2026 highlights a troubling pattern of errors and inaccuracies by U.S. Justice Department lawyers in federal courts, raising concerns among judges about the DOJ’s credibility.…
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Sitting Federal Judges Break Their Silence on Attacks Against the Judiciary at Speak Up for Justice Forum
On March 19, sitting federal judges convened an extraordinary public forum organized by the group Speak Up for Justice, during which they read aloud profane and violent threats they had personally received…
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Chief Justice John Roberts warns personal attacks on judges have ‘got to stop’
In an unusually direct public intervention on March 17, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. declared that personal criticism of federal judges is “dangerous” and “has got to stop,” in remarks widely interpreted…
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MEDEL Conference in Rome: European Judges and Prosecutors Testify to Global Attack on Rule of Law
On March 14, 2026, MEDEL (Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés), an association of European magistrates, convened a conference in Rome titled “Europe in the context of the global attack…
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Appointment of top federal prosecutors in New Jersey was unconstitutional, judge rules
A federal judge issued a 130-page ruling on March 9 disqualifying three Justice Department officials whom Attorney General Pam Bondi had installed to jointly oversee the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey…
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Federal judges face threats after ruling against the Trump administration
A CBS News 60 Minutes investigation reports that federal judges who rule against President Trump’s agenda are increasingly facing intimidation and violent threats, including “swatting,” bomb threats, doxxing, and other harassment aimed…
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Illinois Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Threatening to Kill Federal Judge
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that Eric James Rennert (56), of Champaign, Illinois, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for sending multiple threatening emails…
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Trump’s vicious attacks on judges fuel his bid for unchecked power
Steven Greenhouse argues that Donald Trump’s recent tirade against supreme court justices (after they ruled against his tariff policy) is not an isolated outburst, but part of a broader, intentional campaign by…
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The price of public life: Judges and other officials doxed, swatted, threatened with death
A CBS News investigation documents a sharp rise in threats targeting U.S. public officials—especially judges—amid a political climate where online harassment is increasingly common and sometimes escalates into real-world violence. The story…
