Garland: Protecting the rule of law ‘urgent as it has ever been’

Chief Justice John Roberts and Attorney General Merrick Garland paid tribute to legal aid lawyers on Tuesday evening, insisting more work remains to achieve equal access to the legal system.

Both men addressed a crowd of hundreds gathered in the nation’s capital to mark the 50th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent nonprofit established and funded by Congress that provides civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.

“Equality under law remains a goal, rather than a complete accomplishment,” Roberts said. “And equality under law requires lawyers.”

The chief justice’s remarks come just before the Supreme Court’s final argument session of the term, which will include former President Trump’s appeal that he has presidential immunity from his criminal charges in Washington, D.C.

Roberts made no mention of that upcoming historic argument or any other case on the high court’s docket, instead making his remarks a commendation of the LSC’s decades of legal aid work.

“Like most forms of public service, the work of legal aid lawyers is not a path to wealth or fame,” Roberts said. “But it is a path to making a meaningful contribution to our society and to the cause of equality and justice for all.”

Garland echoed similar sentiments, telling the crowd that the promise of equal justice “rings hollow” without equal access to legal services.

“We gather at a time when protecting the rule of law is as urgent as it has ever been,” Garland said. “Public faith in the rule of law depends in no small part on public faith that our system will ensure equal justice under law. And that faith depends on there being equal access to justice.”

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