Two years ago, as Americans prepared to elect a president and a new Congress, leaders of the legal profession warned lawyers to be on their best behavior.
In an open letter dated Nov. 4, 2024, more than 100 former presidents of national, state and local bar associations said the barrage of lawsuits filed in 2020 seeking to overturn Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump had damaged faith in elections and in democracy. None of the suits produced evidence of widespread vote fraud, some made outlandish claims, and nearly all were rejected, including by Trump-appointed judges.
"The courtroom is not a theater for unsubstantiated claims," the letter said. "When lawyers file a lawsuit, we are duty-bound to ensure it is based on solid facts." It noted that some of the attorneys who papered the courts with unsubstantiated claims of ballot fraud in 2020 "lost their licenses and tarnished their reputations."
This year, the American Bar Association is again exhorting lawyers not to go down that road. "It is incumbent upon lawyers to lead by example, to correct unfounded claims of fraud and to assure people that voting is safe and secure," ABA president Barbara J. Howard said in an Oct. 19 statement. "Lawyers must do their part to instill faith and confidence in our electoral system."
Have these admonitions made a difference? You might say the jury is still out, but most of those contacted in an unscientific survey of election law experts think the answer is no.
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