Sacramento, CA -- The Pacific Justice Institute is announcing the launch of a nationwide grassroots campaign to seek official sanctions against Department of Justice attorneys who have changed sides in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) cases.
“Government lawyers are essentially rising from the table for counsel for the defendant, walking across the courtroom and sitting down at the plaintiff’s table. These attorneys are now seeking to have judgment taken against the party that they represent – the United States,” said Kevin Snider, chief counsel of PJI who is spearheading the effort. “What the DOJ has done would be unthinkable for any other lawyers, and raises serious concerns that professional rules and ethics are being violated.”
“Government lawyers are essentially rising from the table for counsel for the defendant, walking across the courtroom and sitting down at the plaintiff’s table. These attorneys are now seeking to have judgment taken against the party that they represent – the United States,” said Kevin Snider, chief counsel of PJI who is spearheading the effort. “What the DOJ has done would be unthinkable for any other lawyers, and raises serious concerns that professional rules and ethics are being violated.”
The complaints are based on the actions of more than 30 different U.S. and Department of Justice attorneys in 18 different cases. Government lawyers initially filed briefs defending DOMA, then abandoned that defense altogether and began filing papers in support of the plaintiffs in those cases. The complaints are being filed in ten jurisdictions where the attorneys are licensed, including California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia. PJI is encouraging citizens across the country to visit NoWayDOJ.com to become official complainants.
“When the United States and its agencies are sued over the Defense of Marriage Act, the clients are not the President or the Attorney General – the clients are the people of the United States,” noted Brad Dacus, president of PJI. “It is bad enough for the Department of Justice to abandon its clients, but it is unethical and sanctionable for those attorneys to switch sides and ask for judgment leading to damages and attorneys’ fees against their own clients. We are calling on state bar authorities to simply undertake the same investigations and disciplinary actions they would take against any other lawyers who flagrantly violate their duties of client loyalty.”
PJI encourages you to take a bold stand for justice and include your name with the disciplinary complaints. To sign the complaint form click here. Also, please forward this press release to likeminded friends and acquaintances and ask them to sign the complaint.
“When the United States and its agencies are sued over the Defense of Marriage Act, the clients are not the President or the Attorney General – the clients are the people of the United States,” noted Brad Dacus, president of PJI. “It is bad enough for the Department of Justice to abandon its clients, but it is unethical and sanctionable for those attorneys to switch sides and ask for judgment leading to damages and attorneys’ fees against their own clients. We are calling on state bar authorities to simply undertake the same investigations and disciplinary actions they would take against any other lawyers who flagrantly violate their duties of client loyalty.”
PJI encourages you to take a bold stand for justice and include your name with the disciplinary complaints. To sign the complaint form click here. Also, please forward this press release to likeminded friends and acquaintances and ask them to sign the complaint.
Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit legal organization dedicated to defending religious, parental, and other constitutional rights.
P.O. Box 276600 Sacramento, CA 95827-6600 Phone: (916) 857-6900 Fax: (916) 857-6902
www.pji.org
P.O. Box 276600 Sacramento, CA 95827-6600 Phone: (916) 857-6900 Fax: (916) 857-6902
www.pji.org
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