“What we have witnessed recently are extreme overreaches and deliberate violations of our constitution by the federal government,” James said.
The remarks on the national observance of Law Day, which is dedicated to honoring the rule of law, as a reminder that lawyers across the state continue to raise alarms a year and a half into Trump’s second term about his attacks against the independence of the legal profession and judiciary.
The court system’s theme this year, “The Rule of Law and the American Dream,” centered on the freedoms of Americans enabled by the nation’s legal system.
“My friends, if the oaths we took when we passed the bar are to mean anything to any of us, then we must stand firm against any and all attacks on the rule of law and on the judiciary,” James said. “This is not a partisan issue.”
Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson took a more aspirational tack in his remarks on the theme, which centered on our legal system serving as a way of ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to pursue their calling.
“My hope for this Law Day is that we recommit ourselves and each other to the original definition of the American dream by recognizing our communal duty and opportunity to fortify governmental systems, protect the freedom to choose one’s path, to express one’s identity and to happiness on one’s own terms,” Wilson said.
Another speaker, New York State Bar Association President Kathleen Sweet, said to the members of the judiciary and legal profession in the audience that the sanctity of the legal oath means holding political leaders to account. She argued that over the past year, Trump’s administration has installed “loyalists who are unqualified, unvetted and inexperienced” in the Department of Justice.
“We owe a special non-delegable duty to the rule of law,” Sweet said. “We must speak out for the Constitution. We cannot sit back and hope or wait to see who else might do it. It’s up to us.”
To top off the ceremony, Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas presented the Unified Court System’s Judith S. Kaye Service Awards, which honor court employees with exemplary work performance, community service and heroism.
David Nocenti, Office of Court Administration counsel; Shannon Pero, a court attorney referee; Nancy Samms, a senior court reporter; and Isidoros Giakoumas, a management analyst in the fiscal department, were honored for exemplary work.
Eranus Thomas, a Richmond County court clerk, was honored for community service.
A group of 13 court officers in the Manhattan Criminal Court, who defended the court against a knife attack that slashed several officers, were honored for acts of heroism. The officers were ultimately able to subdue the assailant, disarm him and place him under arrest without discharging their weapons.