Recently, there have been increased calls to boycott or otherwise penalize the Federalist Society (a conservative, libertarian, nonpartisan, nonprofit legal organization). The grounds for the boycott are straightforward: Without question, some of the Societys leaders and most prominent members took part in the shameful efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and fuel the January 6, 2021 insurrection. In a piece for Slate, Nicolas Wallace contends that because the Federalist Society, as an organization, has not condemned the insurrectionist in its ranks, it should not occupy a place of respect in the legal community.
Mr. Wallace has personal experience with Society members behaving badly, and he pens an interesting and intelligent piece. On its own, it drives me to deeper reflection. But his opinion is likely not an outlier. It is already being echoed by law professors I respect immensely, and whose opinions I normally share. Whats more, on top of 2020s parade of horribles, the Federalist Society's key role in identifying, vetting, and pushing forward President Trumps federal judicial nominees has already made it a top-tier villain for many Democrats and progressives. The Federalist Society has become one of the few secular non-profit organizations to penetrate the everyday political discourse of ideological and partisan foes.
The Federalist Society was founded in 1982 in response to the domination of liberals and progressives in the legal academy and the practice of law. It now includes more than 75,000 law students, professors, lawyers, and judges. Here in Nevada, the Federalist Society has Reno and Las Vegas chapters for Nevada lawyers. And UNLVs Boyd Law School, the states only law school, has a robust student chapter as well. All three chapters regularly host speaking events and meetings.
I serve as a board member for the Las Vegas chapter, and the Society had a positive influence on my years as a student and a lawyer. My long association with the organization and my past service as a Republican election law attorney, notwithstanding, I spent most of 2020 publicly challenging and condemning President Trumps efforts to disenfranchise voters, sow distrust in our elections, and ruin democracy in Nevada and across the country.
On this news site alone, I wrote at least eight different pieces in praise of Nevadas electoral system, its officials, and its results, while also critiquing President Trumps legal positions and efforts. I defended Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and her team. I also wrote pieces in support of expanding the franchise, the value of voters, moderation, immigration, waiting on confirming Justice Ginsburgs replacement until after the election, Gov. Steve Sisolak, and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. I endorsed and voted for President Biden, too.
I left the Republican Party in August of 2020 specifically because of President Trumps anti-democratic actions and rhetoric, and the harm it was causing Nevada. Given my previous partisan work and affiliations, you can imagine how my opinions and efforts were received. I have walked away from my party, and much of my former political life, but I did not and will not walk away from the Federalist Society.
The Society played an important part in my intellectual growth. I disagree regularly, and I know that my personal politics diverge sharply from the vast bulk of its members. But the Federalist Society taught me important lessons: personal politics and judicial duties need not (and probably shouldnt) be the same thing. The rule of law should transcend and restrain a judges partisan inclinations and preferred policy outcomes. In America, we accept no kings, whether they wear gold crowns or black robes. These are fundamental truths the Federalist Society has instilled in me and that will not change even as other Society members sail on sour ideological winds.
Furthermore, I like having ideas and preconceptions tested especially my own. Just last week, I spent my lunchtime enjoying too much meat from Fogo de Chao and listening to the brilliant Georgetown Law School Professor (and longtime Society member) Randy Barnett. He has a new book coming out in November titled The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit. Based on his presentation, it looks like the book will attempt to get the radical history behind the 14th Amendment right and challenge conservatives and libertarians to actually embrace the fight for justice under the law. I cant wait to read the book.
But it is not just the Federalist Societys intellectual airs that makes it worthy of defense. Many of the Societys members erred tremendously in 2020, but many stood strong as well. Quite a few of the judges who rejected Trumps efforts to overturn the election were members of the Federalist Society. These judges often rejected President Trumps specious argument on grounds rooted in Federalist Society principles. In Nevada, many Republican state court judges all of whom are elected and some of whom I know largely agree with the Federalist Societys philosophy also held fast under intense pressure. Law, not politics, ruled.
Among the many things the 20th Century got wrong was the idea that you could solve complex problems by drawing lines on maps and separating people.Whether it was an effort to untangle some of the horrors of Colonialism, or to preempt some of the expected problems of the Cold War, world leaders thought partitioning countries, communities, and persons a useful remedy. In hindsight, such division proved catastrophically poor medicine, and almost always made things worse.
This history of geopolitical and human partition provides an admittedly crude (and limited) caution about social partitioning today. It is not new borders between countries that worry me, but the new metaphorical borders we are erecting between each other. We are engaged in all sorts of voluntary and involuntary sorting along political and ideological grounds. And we Nevadans are no exception. More and more of our civil, social, religious, and even private lives are quarantined from non-believing outsiders.
I would hate for groups like the Federalist Society to voluntarily or involuntarily exit Nevadas polite legal community. In the long term, such separation rarely works, and usually backfires. Life is messy, and so is the practice of law. None of us know as much as we think we do. Like it or not, all we have is each other. And mixing together, even to passionately disagree, might be the most pro-democracy step we can take.
Daniel H. Stewart is a fifth-generation Nevadan and a partner with Hutchison & Steffen. He was Gov. Brian Sandovals general counsel and has represented various GOP elected officials and groups.
See more here:
Social partitioning - The Nevada Independent
- Opinion | 100 Days of Javier Milei - The New York Times - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flirts with the Libertarian nomination - POLITICO - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. in talks to run on the Libertarian Party ticket to ease ballot challenges - Washington Examiner - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- One Hundred Days of Libertarian Populism in Argentina - The American Conservative - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- Bylaws and Rules Committee and Platform Committee Survey (Part One) - Libertarian Party - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- When Will the Libertarian Party Have Its Moment? - Econlib - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. in talks to run on the Libertarian Party ticket to ease ballot challenges - Colorado Springs Gazette - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. aligned with the Libertarian Party on capitalism stance - NewsNation Now - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. fuels talk of switching to the Libertarian Party - Fox News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK JR still flirting with Libertarian Party run? Third parties seek ballot access - The Hill - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. sparks speculation of switch to Libertarian Party for greater ballot access - Washington Examiner - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Nate Silver: Libertarians Are the Real Liberals - Reason - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Even immigration is no free lunch - Washington Examiner - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Interview with NC Libertarian governor candidate Shannon Bray - Fox Carolina - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Libertarians Call for 'Food Freedom' in Response to Amos Miller Farm Search - Lancaster Farming - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Where Does the Term Libertarian Come From Anyway? | Jeffrey A. Tucker - Foundation for Economic Education - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Here are the 10 Libertarian candidates in the 2024 NC Presidential Primary - Fox Carolina - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- 2024 Presidential Primary Information: Ballots Have Other Races, See Where to Vote - Watertown News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Argentina's libertarian President Milei warns parliament that he will govern 'with or without' political support - Le Monde - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Madison County Introduces First-Ever Libertarian Primary on Super Tuesday - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Musician and libertarian writer who works for 'The Blaze' arrested on Jan. 6 charges - NBC News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. says he didn't read Alabama IVF ruling, won't say when life begins - The Washington Post - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Argentina touts libertarian social justice to Blinken before Javier Milei visits CPAC - Washington Examiner - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Delicate Dance: Navigating Reproductive Rights and Libertarian Principles - BNN Breaking - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Javier Milei and the Spanish Tradition of Liberty - Quillette - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- The Weekly Wrap: Poilievre proves hes more than a live-and-let-live libertarian - The Hub - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Why have authoritarianism and libertarianism merged? A political psychologist on 'the vulnerability of the modern self' - The Conversation - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Argentina's Javier Milei what are his plans and will they work? - MoneyWeek - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Tucker Carlson Issues Scathing Indictment of 'Libertarian Economics' - Reason - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson: "Libertarian Economics Was A Scam Perpetrated By The Beneficiaries Of The Economic System" - RealClearPolitics - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- A Legacy of Resistance to Unjust Taxation - Libertarian Party - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- The Croatian Invasion of the Micronation of Liberland - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- As RFK Jr. Readies an Announcement Monday, Speculation Is ... - The New York Sun - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- The libertarian think tank that helped build the 'No' case - The Saturday Paper - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Fox Chapel Area voters will choose among two candidates for District 3 school board seat - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Far-right party may hold keys to next Polish government, sets tone in talks with Ukraine - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Aella: Is Porn Too Pervasive? - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Massie: McCarthy Speakership Showdown a 'Referendum' on ... - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- ESPN's Pablo Torre explains how Harvard classmate Vivek Ramaswamy was 'That Guy' in school - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- DeFi has not followed through on its privacy promises yet - Blockworks - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- At 50, 'The Machinery of Freedom' Remains an Anarcho-Capitalist ... - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Building the World's First Private Libertarian City - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Libertarian candidates say they were not asked for money to run - Buenos Aires Herald - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- David Schmidtz and My Dad on Asking the Right Questions - Econlib - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Indiana governor's race grows more crowded with addition of ... - The Statehouse File - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Revealed: The EU lobbying of the so-called 'Consumer Choice Center' - EUobserver - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Why do voters have to pick a Republican or a Democrat in the US? - kinyradio.com - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Review: Choose Your Own Adventure in 'American Futures' Book - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Twitter users slam Kamala Harris for airplane bathroom demand amid the ongoing border crisis: 'Really?' - Yahoo News - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Fundraisers revel in gutted N.J. pay-to-play law - POLITICO - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wants to spare kids from their phones - Salt Lake Tribune - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Kari Lake in Tucson: "I'm actually eyeing the Senate race" - KGUN 9 Tucson News - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Q&A with Gary Swing | Veteran minor party candidate advocates for ... - coloradopolitics.com - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Jonah Goldberg: A NeverTrumper's Take on the 2024 Election - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Gov. Lombardo one of few republicans to sign abortion protections ... - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Review: 'Land and Liberty' Charts Henry George's Influence - Reason - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Polish ref cleared of wrongdoing, will take charge of Champions ... - TVP World - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The Taliban 20's McCarthy Red Line - Puck - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Morris: Property: Imagine it anew - Greenfield Daily Reporter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Weekend Reading on Women's Representation: Stereotypes Can ... - Ms. Magazine - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Fox Business Shuts Down Kennedy, Will Replace With Kudlow Reruns - Yahoo Entertainment - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The 11th commandment | News | vcreporter.com - Ventura County Reporter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The Long Afterlife of Libertarianism - The New Yorker - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Can McCarthy Pass the Debt Deal and Keep His Job? - The New York Times - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- McCarthy-Biden Debt Limit Deal Clears First Hurdle in Key House ... - The New York Sun - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Libertarians to voters: Let's go ... - WisPolitics.com - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- How the pandemic challenged libertarianism | Canada's National ... - Canada's National Observer - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Colorado falls to 43rd in national highway ranking - The Durango Herald - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Are We Stuck In a Plutocratic Formal Organization? An Analysis of ... - Trincoll.edu - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Why Is Tucker Carlson Leaving Fox News? - Reason - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Despite SCOTUS Ruling Limiting Its Authority, EPA Tries To ... - Reason - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Biden's "freedom" pitch and the coming political realignment - The.Ink - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Informal dollar reaches AR$497, Fernndez and Massa blame ... - Buenos Aires Herald - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Crack-Up Capitalism by Quinn Slobodian review the economic anarchy of Liz Trusss dreams - The Guardian - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- 2024 Libertarian Presidential Candidates - Who's Running in 2024? - March 2nd, 2023 [March 2nd, 2023]
- 5 things the Libertarian Party stands for | The Hill - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Most Libertarian States 2022 - worldpopulationreview.com - December 25th, 2022 [December 25th, 2022]
- Gun Ownership | Libertarian Party - December 25th, 2022 [December 25th, 2022]
- Libertarian Party | History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- The Education of a Libertarian | Cato Unbound - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]