The American Bar Association Midyear Meeting was held in sunny Phoenix, Arizona in the beginning of February. The week was filled with much camaraderie and learning. After days of continuing legal education and awards ceremonies, the House of Delegates, the official policymaking body of the ABA, convened on Monday, February 3rd, at the Phoenix Convention Center. Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Governor, welcomed the ABA to Phoenix. Our meeting opened with ABA President, William Bay, speaking on the importance of the rule of law to the preservation of our democracy. At the same time, newly elected U.S. President Trump was rapidly signing executive orders having a grave effect on our rule of law, dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout the federal government and attacking the judiciary. Bay stated that “the ABA will not shrink from the things we believe in.” and that “we will stand tomorrow for what we stand for today and what we stood for yesterday, the rule of law, the importance of our judicial system, the essential role of lawyers and an inclusive profession. These are our north stars. We will hold fast to our core principles in the face of shifting winds.” This year will be filled with much to do. “Actions will count, and we will act.” He condemned the threats of firing government lawyers and the unprecedented attacks against judges.

At this meeting, the House of Delegates convened to review and decide on more than two dozen resolutions. Resolutions are approved or denied by a voice vote. Once a resolution is approved, the ABA lobbies the policy it encompasses in Congress and supports the stated policy in all ways necessary to ensure its implementation.

There were several resolutions addressing the judiciary and recent executive orders. Resolution 203, proposed by the New York City Bar Association and the Kings County Bar Association, passed. It urges the U.S. Supreme Court to modify the ethics code of 2023 and adopt a binding code of ethics (as strict as that of the U.S. Judges’ code) as well as a body to enforce it. While an ethics code presently exists, it currently has no teeth. A binding code, which embodies impartiality, fairness and integrity, is needed so that we can restore and bolster public confidence in our Supreme Court. Only by avoiding the appearance of impropriety, can the people have the utmost faith in the justice system.

The House of Delegates passed resolutions 201 and 202 dealing with security of the judiciary and government officials. One urges federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments to make judicial security a priority. The other, urges federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments to enact legislation to prohibit disclosure of personally identifiable information of active and former government officials, employees and their immediate family members. In New York, we are fortunate to have an Office of Court Administration that treats the judiciary’s safety as a top priority. Having implemented many protective measures, such as scrubbing mentions of judges’ names and family members from the internet.

Resolution 200 passed and urges Congress to pass legislation to curtail judge shopping in the U.S. District Court. It aims to eliminate case assignment mechanisms that predictably assign cases to a single U.S. District Court Judge when a case seeks to enjoin enforcement of state or federal laws or regulations.

There were several resolutions aimed at the most recent actions taken by President Trump, in an attempt to protect and help lawyers and bar associations. Resolution 402 was adopted to oppose the possible prosecution of bar associations by the federal government for activities protected by the First Amendment, including advocacy and implementation of DEI initiatives and urges the modification of the Executive Order issued on January 21st titled, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” to clarify that it would not be enforced against bar associations.

Resolution 403 asked for the reinstatement of honors and fellowship programs for entry level attorneys whose offers have been rescinded due to federal hiring freezes.

One of the most important and resonating resolutions passed was Resolution 606. It urges the teachings and introduction of age-appropriate Holocaust and antisemitism education in all K-12 public schools, as an aid to combat bigotry, hate and discrimination. Surprisingly, this is not already included in all curricula throughout our country’s schools. Given the drastic rise in antisemitism, we must be vigilant and educate our children about all past horrific events, so they are not repeated and hatred and discrimination can be eradicated.

All in all, there was little debate and no controversial resolutions. It was evident by the close of the meeting that the biggest challenge this year will be to support the rule of law and protect the independence of our judiciary.

All reports and resolutions can be found on the ABA website. As always, it was an honor to represent the Westchester County Bar Association and I look forward to the Annual Meeting, to be held in Toronto in August.