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EmmaShumwaySecondEssay 3 - 02 May 2021 - Main.EbenMoglen
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| | | When asked to describe his legal philosophy, Thurgood Marshall said, "You do what you think is right and let the law catch up.” RBG, on the other hand, said that “real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” William Kunstler’s monologue depicted in the Trial of the Chicago 7 carried the drama of a fictional Hollywood script, but the words were historically accurate: “If I have to lose my license to practice law and if I have to go to jail, I can’t think of a better cause to go to jail for and to lose my license for than to tell your Honor that you are doing a disservice to the law in saying we can’t have Ralph Abernathy on the stand.” These lawyers all have something in common; they exhibit Aristotle’s definition of courage. Their careers were marked by demonstrations of courage when it was the right time and for the right reason and when there was great personal risk. Whether that be Kunstler’s license, or at times, the risk of physical retaliation to both Marshall and Ginsburg rising to positions of such prestige without being white men, these lawyers took risks because they knew there was something greater at stake. The contrast between Marshall’s progressive legal philosophy and Ginsburg’s more incremental outlook indicates the variety of forms that courageous lawyering can take. As long as the key elements are present: risk or fear, the right reason, strategic timing, and faith in the mission of your work, moral courage can be found. The key to courageous lawyering is thus determining the right reason, and that is a personal decision for another essay. | |
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In execution, I think the most important improvement is to restore all the links that are missing.
Substantively, there is little that can be done to improve the draft on its own current terms. But I think it would be valuable to have a draft that took the subject personally, if you like, experience-near, rather than at the philosophic distance, experience-far.
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