Message from The President

I recently watched a YouTube video my son sent me.  It was an address to Congress by then Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  In his speech Justice Scalia asked what makes America great.  Scalia pointed out that many other countries have rights like ours which are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.  Some constitutions, like the Soviet Union, even guaranteed more expansive rights than our Bill of Rights, like “inviolability of the person” protection from authorized arrest, and protection of the homes from searches.

In reality, these rights were just a façade.  Passed during Stalin’s purges, the Soviet constitution did nothing to protect against mass repressions, show trials, and purges, that resulted in more than 600,000 executions in a two-year span. 

As Justice Scalia pointed out, what makes our country different is that our constitution enforces the rights guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. 

Historically in our county, it has been the courts that have protected our rights.  Famous cases we all studied in law school come to mind such as: Brown v. Board of Education, Mapp v. Ohioand Gideon v. Wainwright.  The separation of powers set forth in our Constitution made these decisions possible.  Unfortunately, these cases came years after our government ignored the rights granted to all of us in the Constitution and its amendments.  As we have seen throughout the history of our country,  certain citizens have been denied their rights based on race, sex, origin and poverty.

250 years ago, our Forefathers declared that all of us are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Those promises are not self-executing.

They endure only if we, as lawyers, judges, and citizens, remain committed to enforcing them, especially when doing so is unpopular or inconvenient. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to uphold it, and the rights it guarantees have meaning only when our courts faithfully protect them. As we commemorate our nation's 250th anniversary, we should remember that America's greatness will never fully be achieved without an enduring commitment to ensure those rights belong equally to every person.

 

(Summer 2026)