CORRUPTION, ELECTION INTERFERENCE — CAN COURTS ACT SOON ENOUGH?

What Can Citizens Do When Court Decisions Arrive Too Late?

Recent court decisions have protected voting rights, enforced constitutional limits, and required greater government transparency. Some of these decisions have specifically taken a proactive stand against malfeasance by the executive.  Examples are the decision to investigate fraud and deception by the administration in the IRS Settlement case leading to the 1.8 B slush fund and the court demand to make public internal deliberation on putting armed guards on polling stations in the fall elections. These victories matter. They also speak to the courts responding to the voice of concerned citizens. 35 retired judges filed their concerns with court. Thank-you postcards matter.

Our conversation will pick up from our March panel on protecting free and fair elections.  The speakers at the panel emphasized that courts are acting, states are winning cases, and institutions are holding.  Yet many of us raised the concern about a deeper reality: laws alone are not enough, and courts always seem to act too late. Way too late. Employees are dismissed, funds are cut, immigrants deported, children traumatized, elections manipulated, wars started.  Months, sometimes years later – the court speaks and rules on what cannot be reversed.

We'll discuss:

• Recent positive and negative court cases
• What these cases reveal about the strength and vulnerability of our institutions
• The role of citizens when traditional checks and balances weaken
• How our postcard campaign should evolve

Two possible new directions for our group and the postcard campaign include:

  • Target specific areas of threats to democracy and rule of law, such as corruption, election meddling, weaponization of the justice system.

  • Identify professionals standing up for democracy in other areas, science and education, mass media.

Click here for additional reading materials that will be distributed discussed in the meeting.

Monday evening 7pm – 8:30 pm

Bernie’s Coffee Shop

3966 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 (Noe Valley

Watch an interview with J. Michael Luttig, retired federal appellate Judge, one of the 45 judges who wrote to reopen the IRS fraud case against Trump. It's the first time that one of the judges speaks out about the case.