City Bar Supports Independence of the Federal Judiciary in Response to Personal Attacks on Judges
The New York City Bar Association (the “City Bar”) issues this statement to express its profound concerns about recent attacks against federal judges, including in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, made by individuals in the Executive Branch and members of Congress.
The City Bar has long believed in judicial independence and the rule of law as dual pillars of our constitutional democracy – and in the importance of speaking out when they are attacked or compromised. Today, both judicial independence and the rule of law are under attack by the new administration, and the entire legal community must zealously protect these fundamental norms of our nation.
On February 8, 2025, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer entered a temporary restraining order that limited access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment system pending a February 14, 2025 hearing, before a different judge in the Southern District of New York. Judge Engelmayer issued the TRO in a case brought by several State Attorneys General, and the order is based on the court’s assessments of risks relating to disclosure of sensitive and confidential information, vulnerability to hacking, and likelihood of success.
Since February 8, Trump administration representatives and members of Congress have made a series of public statements that go beyond expressing disagreement with the merits of Judge Engelmayer’s decision to attacking the judge’s integrity and commitment to justice and characterizing his decision as illegitimate.
In posts on the X platform, Elon Musk called Judge Engelmayer “[a] corrupt judge protecting corruption” who “needs to be impeached NOW!” Mr. Musk, who reportedly is a Special Government Employee, also called Judge Engelmayer “an activist posing as a judge.”
Similar inflammatory attacks have flowed from members of Congress. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, for example, called Judge Engelmayer an “outlaw” who “should be forbidden by higher courts from ever hearing another case against the Trump admin.” And Senator Mike Lee of Utah wrote: “This has the feel of a coup — not a military coup, but a judicial one.”
Beyond attacking Judge Engelmayer for his February 8 decision, administration members also have proposed undermining the very ideal of judicial independence. On February 10, for example, Mr. Musk proposed on the X platform that “the worst 1% of appointed judges, as determined by elected bodies, be fired every year.”
These types of statements by those in the constitutionally co-equal branches imperil the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. Federal judges are obligated to decide the issues presented in their cases to the best of their ability. Under basic constitutional principles like the separation of powers and checks and balances, there is nothing corrupt, illegal, or improper about judges ruling against the government in the course of enforcing constitutional and statutory limitations on the government’s power.
Public officials have a right to publicly disagree with the rulings. And, when they disagree, the executive branch has a right to appeal adverse decisions to the Courts of Appeals and to seek Supreme Court review. This is the appropriate remedy when the executive branch disagrees with a judge’s decision. By contrast, when government representatives engage in ad hominem attacks on federal judges, they jeopardize the fundamental principles that underpin our Constitutional order and the rule of law.
The City Bar expresses strong support for the members of the judiciary, all of whom have sworn an oath to administer justice in a fair and impartial way. Like representatives of the executive branch and members of Congress, federal judges have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. Unlike members of the executive branch and Congress, however, federal judges are not permitted to speak publicly in defense of a particular decision. It is up to lawyers, bar associations and others to speak out in support of the important role played by judges in our system of government.
As members of the legal profession, we steadfastly support the judiciary and the vital constitutional principle of judicial independence and the rule of law they seek to uphold. We encourage other members of the public to do the same.
Muhammad U. Faridi
President
Richard Hong
Chair, Federal Courts Committee
Marcy L. Kahn
Chair, Rule of Law Task Force
Christopher Pioch
Chair, Task Force on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges
About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has 23,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org