Law Schools

Harvard And Yale Law School Alums Take Stand Against Election Bullsh*t

These lawyers should know better.

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Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

2021 has officially come and the passing of the year was not actually a magic spell that did away with all of the bullshit that was the hallmark of its predecessor. That means there’s still a lot of garbage to contend with, and high on that list is the existential threat to democracy being perpetrated by Republicans. While the previous sentence is completely accurate, it could also refer to a disturbing number of recent events, so I’ll be more specific.

I’m talking about the scheme, hatched by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and joined by Ted Cruz of Texas along with Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama to object to the certification of the election results. Of course, there’s no reason to freak out — the efforts are designed to garner headlines and stave off a primary challenge, and will not stop Joe Biden from taking the oath of office on January 20th. But it’s not a good look — not if you care about American democracy, at least.

The thing about Hawley and Cruz leading/joining the effort is that they *should* know better. Both are lawyers who went to excellent law schools (Yale and Harvard, respectively), and alums and affiliates of YLS and HLS are not going to stand by and have their schools’ good names dragged.

That’s right — there are two petitions making the rounds, disavowing the actions of these famous alumni.

From the Yale petition:

Senator Hawley, however, has declared his intention to object to counting the votes of certain states won by President-Elect Biden. This objection will be as futile as it will be corrosive. What’s so troubling about his objection, moreover, is that it’s clear Senator Hawley knows better. Despite his public populist persona and his frequent disparaging of so-called “coastal elites” his résumé makes clear that he himself is a product of Stanford University, Yale Law School, the United States Supreme Court, and the prestigious, Washington, DC corporate law firm Hogan and Hartson—that is, a background that indicates that he knows both reality and the law and that what he is pushing is based on neither.

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And the Harvard petition:

We, the undersigned members of the Harvard Law School community, unequivocally condemn the attempt of fellow graduate Ted Cruz ‘95 and any of his supporters to undermine democracy and our Constitution by improperly challenging the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States.

Now, getting your JD — even from a top law school — is no guarantee against making bad decisions. But Hawley and Cruz are doing more than just making a boneheaded call, they’re actively undermining a free and fair election for cheap political points from the outgoing president. Seriously — do better.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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