March 21, 2025

State Bar of Michigan warns of "Unprecedented Threats to Rule of Law"

I recall previous leadership statements on various issues involving the law and the legal profession. but nothing this extraordinary. All bar associations should speak out NOW about clear and unambiguous threats to the rule of law by the Trump administration and its cowardly enablers.

Special Statement

Dear colleagues,

As attorneys, each of us took an oath as a condition of admission into the State Bar of Michigan. In that oath, we swore our commitment to upholding the U.S. and Michigan constitutions, to maintaining respect for our courts of justice and judicial officers, and to never reject the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.

As the elected officers of the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, we want all Michigan attorneys to know that we are concerned by any and all threats to the judiciary, the Constitution, and American democracy. Today, we issued the following statement and the State Bar of Michigan is also continuing to update the resources it has available at michbar.org/ruleoflaw to help educate the public about these issues.

Statement from SBM Leadership on Unprecedented Threats to Rule of Law

As officers of the State Bar of Michigan, we are committed to promoting the administration of justice and upholding the rule of law—core principles that are essential to the proper functioning of our democracy comprised of three co-equal branches of government.

The rule of law ensures that our legal system in the judicial branch of government operates with fairness, stability, and predictability, affording all individuals equal access to justice under established legal principles.

A strong and independent judiciary is fundamental to this framework, as it safeguards constitutional rights, resolves disputes impartially, and applies the law free from external influence. Judges must be able to decide cases based on the law and facts, rather than outside pressures. Efforts to undermine judicial independence—whether through threats to judicial security, calls for removal based on case outcomes, or actions that erode the public’s trust in the courts—pose risks to the proper functioning of our justice system.

Equally fundamental to the rule of law and the proper administration of justice is the ability of lawyers to advocate for clients, even when those clients and their causes may be difficult or controversial. Our democracy depends on lawyers being able to provide representation to others as a means of ensuring that legal rights are properly asserted and that courts are presented with full and fair arguments.

We affirm the State Bar of Michigan’s commitment to supporting the fair and impartial administration of justice in the proper functioning of the courts. We encourage respect for the judicial process and the roles of judges and lawyers in our legal system. We invite members of the bar and the public to visit the State Bar of Michigan’s webpage for further information on the importance of the rule of law in our democracy.

In accordance with our mission and responsibilities at the State Bar of Michigan, we will continue to provide resources, education, and advocacy that support an independent judiciary, the legal profession, and the rule of law, in furtherance of the administration of justice and the proper functioning of our courts now and in the future.

If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to us at boc@michbar.org.

Joseph P. McGill, President
Lisa J. Hamameh, President-Elect
Erika L. Bryant, Vice President
Thomas H. Howlett, Treasurer
David C. Anderson, Secretary

This statement is made by the duly elected officers of the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners, not on behalf of all individual SBM members. It does not necessarily reflect the views of officers’ employers.

September 30, 2024

Report: MLB hit king Pete Rose dies at 83

Source: Yahoo News

Longtime MLB star Pete Rose died on Monday afternoon, his agent confirmed to TMZ.
He was 83. Specifics surrounding his death are not yet known.

Rose spent 24 years in Major League Baseball, and he retired as the league’s all-time hits leader, among other things. The Cincinnati native got his start with the Reds in 1963, and he spent the first 16 seasons of his career with the organization. He won a pair of World Series titles in 1975 and 1976, which marked the club’s first championships in 35 years.

Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/report-mlb-hit-king-pete-rose-dies-at-83-231616652.html

May 31, 2024

I have been a lawyer for 40 years. I'm ready to fight!

I spent nearly all my career not as a litigator but as a spokesperson, including 10 years as communications director at the State Bar of Michigan. Now I am retired. I could not express my own views, much as they often matched up. Now I can.

TRUMP IS THE GREATEST DANGER TO THIS NATION SINCE RUSH LIMBAUGH. Remember him? I predicted this would happen in 1991.

And so it has.

September 26, 2023

Brooks Robinson, Hall of Fame Orioles third baseman, dies at 86

Source: Washington Post

Brooks Robinson, the Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles third baseman who helped lead his team to two World Series championships and is widely regarded as baseball’s greatest defensive third baseman ever, died Sept. 26 at 86.

The team announced the death but did not disclose further details.

During a 23-year career in Baltimore, Mr. Robinson was an All Star for 15 seasons and won the Gold Glove award as the top fielder at his position 16 years in a row. His ability to grab any ball hit in his direction earned him many nicknames, including “the Human Vacuum Cleaner,” and he remained one of Baltimore’s best-loved athletes long after his retirement in 1977. . .

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/09/26/brooks-robinson-third-baseman-orioles-dead/

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Another icon of my youth gone. He was the best.

July 1, 2023

Gettysburg, July 1

&ab_channel=Zappiss

October 26, 2022

Election conspiracists have checklist for Michigan poll challengers: What's on it

Source: Detroit Free Press

Set up hidden cameras to capture license plate numbers. If you go at night, show up armed.

These aren't battlefield directions. They're instructions laid out as part of a strategic operation spearheaded by prominent election conspiracists seeking to keep close tabs on Michigan's upcoming midterm election.

Michigan is one of several states targeted by the America Project, an organization led by allies of former President Donald Trump to recruit citizen election monitors in ways election experts worry blurs the lines between lawful oversight and vigilantism. . .

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/10/26/checklist-for-michigan-poll-challengers/69575461007/

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Show up ARMED?!?

This is going to be much worse than I initially feared. I knew Jan. 6 would be bad, but never anticipated the degree of organization we saw. This time, we are forewarned.

September 13, 2022

Ken Starr, prosecutor in Clinton Whitewater probe, dies at 76

Source: CNBC

Ken Starr, who led the Whitewater investigation into former President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday at 76, his family said in a statement.

Starr died in Houston of complications from surgery, the statement said.

Starr was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., and he served as U.S. solicitor general under then-President George H.W. Bush.

But he is best known for leading Whitewater, the expansive investigation that began as a probe of real estate investments by then-President Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton, but branched out to encompass numerous other areas — including the notorious Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.

That scandal involved the president’s extramarital affair with Lewinsky, which started when she was a 24-year-old White House intern.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/13/ken-starr-prosecutor-in-clinton-whitewater-probe-dies-at-76.html

August 15, 2022

Steve Bannon vows MAGA will destroy 'Gestapo' FBI: 'We are a threat to the American state'

Source: Raw Story

Conservative podcast host Steve Bannon on Monday declared that his followers "are a threat to the American state."

During opening remarks on his War Room: Pandemic podcast, Bannon argued that the FBI should be defunded because agents served a search warrant to recover classified documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. . . .

. . . Bannon noted that Vox had recently published a column warning that Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is a threat to the "American state."

"They didn't say the country, they didn't say America as a nation, they didn't say the American people," Bannon argued. "The American state. And they are absolutely correct. You said the quiet part out loud. We are a threat to the American state."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/steve-bannon-american-state/

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I remember predicting violence by MAGA between the election and Biden's inauguration. That wasn't difficult, but I didn't predict it would be an organized effort to overthrow the government.

Today we have once again been warned.

July 26, 2022

Tony Dow, Wally on 'Leave It to Beaver,' Dies at 77

Source: The Wrap

Actor Tony Dow, best known as older brother Wally Cleaver on the 1950s sitcom “Leave it to Beaver,” died Tuesday at age 77.

A statement shared to Facebook on his official site read: “Tony was a beautiful soul – kind, compassionate, funny and humble. It was truly a joy to just be around him. His gentle voice and unpretentious manner was immediately comforting and you could not help but love him. The world has lost an amazing human being, but we are all richer for the memories that he has left us.”

No cause of death was announced, but Dow revealed his cancer diagnosis in May. A joint statement from Dow and his wife “Lauren Shulkind read, “Dear Friends & Fans of Tony Dow, I have some very sad news to share with you. Unfortunately, Tony has once again been diagnosed with cancer. He is approaching this reality so bravely, but it is truly heartbreaking.”

Read more: https://www.thewrap.com/tony-dow-wally-on-leave-it-to-beaver-dies-at-77/

May 21, 2022

Trump, Jr. winds up in felony poaching scandal in Utah after killing a bear baited with pastries

Source: Raw Story

Second-generation New York real estate heir Donald Trump, Jr. is caught up in yet another hunting scandal.

Utah hunting guide Wade Lemon is facing five years in prison for baiting a bear that was killed by Trump, Jr. on May 18, 2018, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.

But the New York developer may not have been familiar enough with western hunting to know about the felony poaching.

"Trump Jr. is not named in a recent filing against Lemon, but the DNR confirmed his identity as the person named in the felony complaint as Lemon’s “client” on the hunt. Prosecutors have indicated there was no evidence showing Trump Jr. would have known about the alleged baiting that went on during the hunt," the newspaper reported. "Without naming Trump Jr., Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said the hunter in the case 'was actually a victim and a now a possible witness in a fraudulent scheme to lead the hunter to believe it was actually a legitimate Wild West hunting situation.'". . .

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-jr-hunting-poacher

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Whether he was "aware" or not, he has slaughtered enough animals and lines of cocaine to disqualify himself from the human race.