The Bergen County Bar Association issues this statement to reaffirm a simple but vital principle: our system of justice depends on an independent judiciary and a legal profession that is free to represent clients without fear or favor.
We stand in support of the rule of law and the independence of our judiciary, cornerstones of our constitutional democracy. Judges, attorneys, and courts must be free to carry out their duties without intimidation, interference, or retaliation.
Public discourse from any aspect of the political spectrum that targets judges or penalizes attorneys for representing certain clients undermines confidence in our legal system and threatens the integrity of a profession dedicated to justice, fairness, and due process. Our system functions because the public trusts that courts apply the law fairly and that lawyers serve their clients without fear of consequence. That trust is not easily earned, and once lost, not easily restored.
Our association remains committed to advancing relations and understanding between both the courts and counsel, and the legal profession and the general public. Lawyers and judges are certainly not above criticism. But when criticism from any aspect of the political spectrum crosses into coercion, and disagreement by anyone encourages efforts to intimidate, it is the responsibility of the legal community to advocate zealously and ethically to ensure that our system remains impartial, independent, and accessible to all.
We, as members of the Bergen County Bar Association’s Board of Trustees who come from all political spectrums, stand firmly with the legal community and the public in upholding these essential principles.