Reposted by CherikPDX
102 pages of straight fire from Judge Beryl Howell
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PERKINS COIE LLP,
Plaintiff,
V.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al.,
Defendants.
Civil Action No. 25-716 (BAH)
Judge Beryl A. Howell
MEMORANDUM OPINION
No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this
lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HENRY VI, PART 2, act 4, sc. 2, 1. 75. When Shakespeare's character, a rebel leader intent on
becoming king, see id. I. 74, hears this suggestion, he promptly incorporates this tactic as part of
his plan to assume power, leading in the same scene to the rebel leader demanding "[a]way with
him," referring to an educated clerk, who "can make obligations and write court hand," id. 1. 90,
106. Eliminating lawyers as the guardians of the rule of law removes a major impediment to the
path to more power. See Walters v. Nat'l Ass'n of Radiation Survivors, 473 U.S. 305, 371 n.24
(1985) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (explaining the import of the same Shakespearean statement to be
"that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government").
The importance of independent lawyers to ensuring the American judicial system's fair
and impartial administration of justice has been recognized in this country since its founding era.
In 1770, John Adams made the singularly unpopular decision to represent eight British soldiers
charged with murder for their roles in the Boston Massacre and "claimed later to have suffered the](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:t4x2ruk2qmob2b2cx55h4v7r/bafkreibym7gqxofw4wrpxo3r5q2yf7rki7sbtv4o6t6b2oiznxqwv2of3q)
CherikPDX
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