OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Lawyers Demand “Impartial Justice” in Impeachment Trial of President Donald Trump

January 31, 2020

On behalf of thousands of lawyers around the country, we gather today in our nation’s capital to demand that United States Senators honor their oath to “do impartial justice” in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

We are deeply committed to preserving America’s democratic form of government, including the constitutional separation of powers, checks and balances and rule of law on which our democracy depends.

As lawyers, we have sworn an oath to “defend and protect” the United States Constitution. That oath compels us to speak out today.

The Constitution commands that: “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they [the Senate] shall be on Oath or Affirmation.” Const., Art. I, Sect. 3, Clause 6. Before being allowed to participate in an impeachment trial, Senate Rules require every senator to “solemnly swear or affirm … in all things appertaining to the trial...I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and law.” Procedure and Guidelines for Impeachment Trials in the United States Senate, pp. 25-26 & p. 61.

Since senators must honor the oath “in all things appertaining to the trial,” they have a solemn duty to act with “impartial justice” as to all elements of an impeachment trial.  

These include: determining the purposes of, and legal standards for, impeachable offenses; hearing all the significant evidence relevant and material to the articles of impeachment; determining what the facts are based on the evidence; judging whether the facts satisfy the legal standards for impeachable offenses; and, if so, rendering a judgment of conviction.

For senators to “do impartial justice” in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, they must honor the following principles (among others):

First, the Founders’ fundamental purpose for providing in the Constitution for impeachment of presidents was to enable Congress to remove – during their terms of office - presidents who were subverting our constitutional, democratic system, i.e., to remove them before the next election. Stopping dangerous presidential abuses of power without waiting for the next presidential election is the very reason the Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach and remove presidents.

Second, senators must allow the House to present all evidence, including witnesses and documents, constituting the most reliable and probative evidence of the facts alleged in the articles of impeachment.

Third, in every determination senators make as judges and jurors – including as to the applicable legal standards, scope of admissible evidence, determination of facts, application of law to facts and conviction or acquittal - they may not allow themselves to be influenced by their partisan, political self-interest. This would be the exact opposite of being “impartial.” Instead, the decisions senators make in connection with holding an impeachment trial must be unbiased by their political self-interest.

Senators: Your duty to “do impartial justice” as judges and jurors in trying the impeachment of the President of the United States is a grave responsibility. Of all 330 million Americans, this duty rests only on the 100 of you.  

The American people are depending on you to uphold your oaths and “do impartial justice” as you swore to do. Your actions as jurors in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will be judged by the American people. The impact of your actions will be felt not only by those alive today, but by future generations of Americans.

We implore you to act not in the best interests of one political party or another, but in the best interests of the people of the United States of America.  

Respectfully,

Lawyers for Good Government
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
Lawyer Moms of America
Demand Justice