Today Gyi Tsakalakis, attorney and founder of AttorneySync, posted on LinkedIn the complete text of the lawyer’s oath. It begins:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm): I will support the Constitution of the United States
So what does it really mean to uphold this oath? Last year, attorney Regina C. Wilson wrote this:
This oath is more than a mere formality – it is a guiding principle that shapes our professional conduct and commitment to justice throughout our careers. As lawyers, we understand the power of words, and three, in particular, stand out in this oath: support, obey, and defend…Our duty is not passive, as we have sworn to actively support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States…
Meanwhile, under the pretense of law enforcement, the federal government continues to trample on the constitutional rights of Americans. On Saturday morning, federal agents murdered VA nurse Alex Pretti in the street. In doing so, they violated his constitutional rights.
- He had the right to attend a protest.
- He had the right to film what was happening.
- He had the right to carry a firearm.
He was denied these rights when he was brutally shot down. No due process. No trial. No justice. Just 10 bullets at point-blank range.
And as soon as the news broke of this murder – the second murder committed by federal troops in Minneapolis in the last 3 weeks – federal government officials began spreading lies about the victim in an effort to further deny him his rights. It refuses to investigate his murder in a fair and impartial manner and hold accountable those responsible for his death. Instead, it claims that the agents have “total immunity.”
At Juris Digital, we’re calling on lawyers to live up to their oath to actively defend the US Constitution by speaking out against these outrageous violations by the federal government.
Kudos to attorney Ryan McKeen for demonstrating what speaking out looks like:
