Pre Law Write
January 6, 2021, was a harrowing day in American history. The failed insurrection was a frightening look at a future without the rule of law — and a group of law deans are doing something about it.
Initially, deans from 171 law schools wrote an open letter condemning the attack. Then Mark Alexander, dean of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, had the idea to put together a group of deans to write a book about the events.
The premise is based on discussions that several of the deans had immediately following the attack, and a theme was born from those talks: democracy is fragile.
“Without lawyers — what they are charged to do and the constitutional oath they take — we have no democracy,” said Anthony Crowell, dean of New York Law School.
The book, “Beyond Imagination? The January 6 Insurrection,” was released on Dec. 30 and includes chapters written by 14 deans from around the country, each detailing subjects such as leadership, electoral politics, racism and the role of law schools in educating attorneys committed to upholding the rule of law.
Alexander told Reuters he wants the book to become the foundation for both new courses at law school as well as continuing legal education sessions for lawyers.
Read more of the review here. https://nationaljurist.com/law-deans-write-book-about-january-6-insurrection-plus-new-appointments
BOOK DETAILS
DESCRIPTION
The United States is a nation of laws, and its Constitution and the rule of law have allowed it to confront and successfully navigate many threats to democracy throughout the nation’s complex history, including a Civil War. All of these threats challenged the nation in various ways, but never has there been a challenge to the truth of our elections like what happened on January 6, 2021.
The Insurrection represents a turning point in America’s history. In addition to the unprecedented assault on the U.S. Capitol, members of the government sought to undermine an election and supported an attack on the government.
Exposing the issues that led us to January 6, Beyond Imagination? brings together 14 deans of American law schools to examine the day’s events and how we got there, from a legal perspective, in hopes of moving the nation forward towards healing and a recommitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.
