Lucre or Malice

Don’t forget to join Katie Phang and me tonight, Tuesday, at 7 ET/6 CT for a Substack Live you won’t want to miss! You’ll get a push notification when we go live. I hope you’ll join us—just two southern lawyers talking about democracy.

This is the oath of office that lawyers take when they are admitted to the State Bar Association in Alabama.

The exact language varies from state to state, but the intention is the same. “I solemnly swear that I will demean myself as an attorney, according to the best of my learning and ability, and with all good fidelity, as well to the court as to the client; that I will use no falsehood or delay any person’s cause for lucre or malice, and that I will support the Constitution of the State of Alabama and of the United States, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, so help me God.”

Lawyers swear under oath to uphold the Constitution when they become members of the bar. If I were to amend Alabama’s oath, I might add a sentence at the end to make it explicit that new lawyers swear allegiance to the rule of law and reject allegiance to any king. But the intent is plain. We are a country of laws, not of men. Attorneys make a solemn promise that they will not lie or delay a matter (shout out to Trump’s lawyers) for profit or out of ill will.

Unfortunately, lucre and malice do a great deal to explain the motivation for much of what we saw during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Everything from Musk’s ascendancy to the most venal executive orders directed at law firms and individuals. Much of the burden to fix what can be fixed will fall on the courts. Thursday, when many lawyers will reaffirm their oath to the Constitution in honor of Law Day, I hope judges, especially justices on the Supreme Court, will understand the awesome task that stands before them for the next 100 days and beyond. The rest of it will be up to us of course, the voters, as we head into state and local elections this year and the midterms in 2026.

Being in Washington, D.C., last weekend was a stark reminder of everything I love about the Capitol and democracy. In addition to celebrating the rule of law and the First Amendment, the city itself, with tourists walking around in awe and parents out with babies in strollers, is a reminder of how remarkably fortunate we are to have the freedoms we possess as Americans and why it matters for us to protect them in this moment. Whether it’s the National Museum of African American History and Culture, shuttered federal agencies, or the whispers and the more audible protests you hear everywhere, it seems D.C. is awake to the threat we face.

That’s as it should be as we approach May Day, with its dual purpose this year: public protesting and a reaffirmation of the legal profession’s commitment to the rule of law. It’s due process day in America, and we all understand the stakes.

What’s the takeaway? America has somehow elected, not once but twice, a president who does not believe in the rule of law. Whatever else one thinks of Trump, that’s clear. He believes his word is the truth and his plans must go forward. When they conflict with the Constitution, he wins. We didn’t need to see him post the picture of himself in a crown on social media to understand his view of how government should work—at his whim.

On Law Day this Thursday, we should all, either publicly or privately, reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and be prepared to take that commitment to the polls, where we will vote for democracy again, despite the disappointment of 2024. Our elections are the last great bulwark against autocracy.

It should not have taken the events of Trump’s first hundred days to open the eyes of Americans who were willing to tolerate him all along, but there are many new eyes that have been opened. Whether it’s a new understanding that denying due process to anyone is a denial to everyone, whether it's their pocketbooks and tariffs, this is the moment where our conversations with our peers become incredibly important. Be willing to reengage and explain the issues as you see them to those around you who may be new to your views. Feel free to share Civil Discourse and encourage people to sign up for free—now, more than ever, it’s important for people to have access to information so they can make up their own minds about what the future of our country should be like. Trump may be fighting the law, but the law can still win. I expect it to.

We’re in this together,

Joyce