Welcome Remarks at Presentation of Honorary Membership to Judge J. Michael Luttig

By Muhammad U. Faridi, President, New York City Bar Association

February 17, 2026

New York City Bar Association

Good evening, colleagues, friends, and distinguished guests.

My name is Muhammad Faridi, and I am the President of the New York City Bar Association.  It is a privilege to welcome you this evening for what is both a historic and deeply meaningful occasion: the conferral of honorary membership upon J. Michael Luttig.

The City Bar does not bestow honorary membership lightly.  Since our founding in 1870, this distinction has been reserved for individuals of pre-eminent distinction—jurists and lawyers whose careers embody not only professional excellence, but a deep and sustained commitment to the rule of law.

It is not merely recognition of achievement.  It is a declaration of values.  It reflects who we are as an institution and what we believe the legal profession must defend, especially in moments of strain.

Over the decades, this honor has been extended sparingly—to Attorneys General, international jurists, civil rights leaders, and judges who have demonstrated uncommon courage in service of constitutional principles.  The past honorees include the legendary civil rights activist Jack Greenberg, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, and former Chief Justice of Pakistan who led the lawyers movement Iftikhar Chaudry.  What unites all of the past honorees is not ideology or partisanship, but fidelity to law as a constraint on power and as the foundation of democratic governance.

Judge Luttig’s career reflects that fidelity in remarkable measure.  Born in Tyler, Texas, he graduated from Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia School of Law.  He clerked for then–Judge Antonin Scalia on the D.C. Circuit and for Chief Justice Warren Burger of the United States Supreme Court.  He served in the Office of Legal Counsel during the administration of President George H. W. Bush—one of the roles in our constitutional system where the meaning of executive power is most carefully examined.

In 1991, at the age of just 37, he was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  For fifteen years, he served with intellectual rigor and constitutional seriousness.  In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, he dissented to insist that a United States citizen designated as an enemy combatant was entitled to meaningful judicial review—a position ultimately vindicated by the Supreme Court.  His chambers became a training ground for some of the finest lawyers of a generation, with dozens of his clerks going on to clerk at the Supreme Court.

After leaving the bench, he might well have chosen a quieter public life.  Instead, in recent years, Judge Luttig has emerged as one of the most visible and principled voices in defense of constitutional democracy.

He has testified before Congress regarding the events of January 6, co-authored a methodical examination of claims of election fraud, and spoken about the independence of the judiciary.  In a recent essay, he quoted Thomas Paine’s Common Sense:  “For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”  That simple proposition—that in a free country, the law must be king—is the animating principle behind tonight’s honor.

Judge Luttig’s work reminds us that the rule of law is not self-executing.  It depends on institutions and individuals.  It depends on judges who respect the limits of their authority, lawyers who speak honestly about constitutional boundaries, and public servants who choose principle over convenience.

The New York City Bar’s decision to confer honorary membership this evening is not about politics.  It is about constitutional fidelity.  It is about affirming that the independence of the judiciary is not a partisan value; that truth in constitutional interpretation matters; and that those who have benefited most from our system bear a special responsibility to defend it when it is tested.

Judge Luttig, on behalf of the Board of Directors and the members of the New York City Bar Association, it is my distinct honor to present you with this certificate recognizing your election as an Honorary Member of the New York City Bar Association.

This certificate reflects our deep respect for your service, your integrity, and your steadfast commitment to the principle that in this country, the law—not any individual—must be sovereign.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Judge Luttig as an Honorary Member of the New York City Bar Association.

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Read Judge Luttig’s acceptance remarks here.

Watch a video of the program here.