{"id":28398,"date":"2012-06-21T11:21:28","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T17:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/21\/refusing-to-defend-a-law.html"},"modified":"2014-11-05T14:36:03","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T21:36:03","slug":"refusing-to-defend-a-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/21\/refusing-to-defend-a-law.html","title":{"rendered":"Refusing to defend a law"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one of those legal\/ethical conundra I have very mixed feelings about. \u00a0If you — as a chief governmental executive or as a government attorney — feel that a particular law is unconstitutional, do you still have an ethical requirement to protect it?\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the one hand, because I admittedly support their position (considering such a ban to be a violation of equal protection laws), my inclination is to get up and cheer.<\/p>\n

But the thing is, this sort of mess cuts in all directions — one can imagine both state attorneys who would not defend a law banning gay marriage, and state attorneys who would not defend a law preventing discrimination against gays. \u00a0Calling one the "good guys" and the other the "bad guys" misses the point, and turns a system of laws into a system of personal preferences.<\/p>\n

It also gets uncomfortably close to the question of religious<\/i> dissent and conscience-based exemptions from laws. \u00a0After all, if a state attorney can ethically decline to defend a state law she thinks is unconstitutional because she swore an oath to defend the constitution, then why can't a pharmacist ethically decline to provide a prescription for something she feels is against her personal religious oaths? \u00a0That's a slippery slope that leads in too few steps to a complete breakdown of law and order, if not society.<\/p>\n

And it's true on the national level as well. \u00a0While on one level I'm pleased with the Obama administration's decision not to defend DOMA in court, I acknowledge I would feel very differently if it were a Romney administration deciding not to defend ACA or the Civil Rights Act in court.<\/p>\n

I don't have an easy answer here, just a lot of thoughts. (h\/t +<\/span>Jim Feig<\/a><\/span>)<\/p>\n

\n

Embedded Link<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIll. prosecutors refuse to defend gay marriage ban<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwenty-five Illinois couples were prepared for a long legal fight when they joined lawsuits challenging the state's ban on gay marriage. Turns out they won't get one \u2014 at least not from the attorneys …\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Google+:<\/strong> View post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is one of those legal\/ethical conundra I have very mixed feelings about. \u00a0If you — as a chief governmental executive or as a government attorney — feel that a particular law is unconstitutional, do you still have an ethical requirement to protect it?\u00a0 On the one hand, because I admittedly support their position (considering … Continue reading “Refusing to defend a law”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,718],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-marriage-equality"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43239,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/24\/defense-attorneys-defend-thats-their-job.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":0},"title":"Defense attorneys DEFEND. That's their job","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 24-Jun-14 10:05am","format":false,"excerpt":"It is the nature of our criminal justice system that attorneys for the defense are meant -- indeed, are obligated by the canons of their profession -- to defend in any legal fashion possible. Whether they think their client is a wrongfully accused saint or the worst scum ever to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20321,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/25\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-potpourri-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":1},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Potpourri Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 25-Feb-11 5:56pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I guess Bryan was unhappy with my shifting my dolt title over to some other folks and felt the need for a shotgun doltage discharge. \u00a0Here's Bryan taking on everything under the sun ... though, of course, it's mostly about Teh EVIL GAYZ and Teh EVIL PRESIDENT WHO LOVES THEM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dolts"","block_context":{"text":"Dolts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/dolts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/bryanfischer-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":130998,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/07\/06\/north-carolina-robs-disaster-fund-to-pay-for-hb2-legal-bill.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":2},"title":"North Carolina robs disaster fund to pay for HB2 legal bill","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 6-Jul-16 6:42pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the state attorney general has declined to defend N Carolina's anti-transgender law in court, the governor, Pat McCrory, is hiring private lawyers to do so. And, of course, the money for that has to come from somewhere. Hmmmm ..._'On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved giving Gov. Pat McCrory's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32321,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/01\/25\/a-twist-in-the-doma-case.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":3},"title":"A twist in the DOMA case","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 25-Jan-13 8:49am","format":false,"excerpt":"The Obama Administration announced in 2011 that it agreed with lower court rulings that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional and declined to defend it. \u00a0The GOP-led House chose to defend the law on appeal to the Supreme Court. \u00a0Now a lawyer appointed by the Supreme Court itself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13506,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/11\/26\/joining_up_with_the_grass.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":4},"title":"Joining up with the GrassFire Brigade","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 26-Nov-08 2:02pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Grassfire.org is trying set itself up as a grass roots \"resistance\" movement to All Things Obama and Liberal and Socialist and Gay and Democrat. To which end they are trying...","rel":"","context":"In "Marriage Equality"","block_context":{"text":"Marriage Equality","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/marriage-equality"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49282,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/19\/freedom-of-icky-speech.html","url_meta":{"origin":28398,"position":5},"title":"Freedom of Icky Speech","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 19-Jan-15 7:49am","format":false,"excerpt":"Neil Gaiman on why you shouldn't just defend speech you like or enjoy or _agree with_ or find pleasant. It's the other stuff that needs defending first, because that's what sets the precedent protecting your stuff. Originally shared by +WIST - Wish I'd Said That: The Law is a blunt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46562,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28398\/revisions\/46562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}