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THE LAST WORD by Grant Woods
Vigilance
Americans enter the new
year with much emotion about what lies in
store with new leadership in Washington,
DC. Many are hopeful, and many others are
filled with despair. It could be the best of
times or the worst of times or, more likely,
a combination. I am confident that it won’t
be apocalyptic, though—if our legal profession and judicial system does its job and the
rule of law is protected.
First, I hope everyone gives the new
President and his administration a real
chance. He wasn’t my choice, and I was
disappointed in the result. But I have been
dismayed in recent times at how the politicking and gamesmanship never ends. Too
many people do what they can to see that
the President fails in the hope that they can
regain power four years later.
But we have only one President at a time, and his (or her) success can
be our success as a nation. We will always stand on principle and never
abandon deeply felt beliefs. But we have to work harder at finding areas
of agreement and compromise to move the country forward. Governing is much harder than obstruction, but it is what the country needs
and has a right to expect.
But this election, for the first time in my lifetime, made
me wonder if the United States is susceptible to the tyrannical
impulses that have plagued other countries. Are we as special
and immune as we thought we were? The answer is that we
are as susceptible as others and that we must fall back on our
principles, our Constitution, and our courage to make sure the
worst-case scenario here is a Presidency that didn’t work.
In this campaign we heard about religious tests, suspension
of due process, strident bigotry, attacks on a free press, and
other assaults on the Bill of Rights. We heard that orders would
be given to use torture on our enemies and to tear up or ignore
longstanding treaties with friends and foes. Acts that would be
a violation of federal law or international law or the United
States Constitution were repeatedly promised and cheered.
It will be the lawyers who play a critical role in seeing that
none of this is allowed to happen unilaterally—or hopefully at
all. Lawyers must bring whatever actions necessary to maintain
our rule of law, and judges must have the courage to render
Grant Woods is a trial lawyer in
Phoenix emphasizing complex litigation,
plaintiff’s personal injury, and
government relations. He was Arizona
Attorney General from 1991 to 1999.
For more by the author, go to
www.GrantWoods.com
decisions as the
Constitution re-
quires. We can’t
look for solace or
support from the
voters or the me-
dia or anyone
else. It will be up
to us who are
trained in the law
to see that it is
upheld. No mat-
ter what.
Our forefa-
thers always had
this very problem
foremost in their
minds. They were
ever vigilant. Long
before he was a Broadway star, Alexander
Hamilton wrote:
A dangerous ambition more often lurks
behind the specious mask of zeal for
the rights of the people than under the
forbidden appearance of zeal for the
firmness and efficiency of government.
History will teach us that the former
has been found a much more certain
road to the introduction of despotism
than the latter, and that of those men
who have overturned the liberties of
republics, the greatest number have be-
gun their career by paying an obsequi-
ous court to the people, commencing
as demagogues, and ending as tyrants.
We know the law, and we know our
Constitution. We may have a responsibility
to be hopeful and look for consensus. But
most of all, as our nation’s students and
guardians of the law, we have a deeply rooted American duty to be vigilant.
Lawyers must bring
whatever actions
necessary to
maintain our rule
of law.
