Did lawyers and civil rights groups write down complaints about Justice Department changes?

"Congress confirmed this longstanding approach by explicitly rejecting a theory of federal preemption developed by DOJ that would have immunized DOJ lawyers from certain state professional conduct regulation."

"Punishing law firms for their choice of clients and cases infringes the First Amendment rights of those clients to choose their own counsel and to petition the courts for redress."

"It is unlawful, unsound, and dangerous to the professional civil service."

"Subsection (b) of proposed new Part 77.5 purports to give DOJ the power to act against state authorities that refuse to honor DOJ’s “request” to suspend state proceedings."

"In its comment letter, the State Bar of California characterizes the DOJ proposal as “unprecedented, unnecessary, [and] inappropriate,” and says it lacks both congressional and constitutional authority."

"The statute does not say “subject to the same rules, except rules regarding discipline.”"

"Even the more limited act of prohibiting DOJ lawyers from cooperating with state disciplinary authorities impacts the states since it forces DOJ lawyers to violate ABA Model Rule 8.3(b), in force in New York as in most states"

"Congress enacted 28 U.S.C. § 530B (the McDade Amendment) in 1998 to make clear that government lawyers are not exempt from the ordinary ethical rules that govern the legal profession."

"would put DOJ attorneys in direct conflict with their affirmative responsibilities under applicable state professional rules."

"(2) lacks a rational justification; (3) lacks adequate procedural safeguards;"

"Allowing the DOJ to insulate employees accused of professional misconduct would never be appropriate, but it is particularly improper at a time when federal courts across the country have been increasingly vocal regarding departures from the professional norms previously upheld by the DOJ."

"California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate comment letter of 22 attorneys general in opposing the United States Department of Justice’s (U.S. DOJ) proposed rule that would undercut State Bar disciplinary proceedings against federal attorneys by allowing U.S. DOJ to review allegations — including if they violated any ethics rule while engaged in federal duties — against its own attor"

"In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the U.S. DOJ to withdraw its proposed rule because it is contrary to law and jeopardizes the integrity of our legal system."

"More troubling, the U.S. Attorney General would have the authority to request the State Bar disciplinary authority to suspend or displace any investigative steps pending U.S. DOJ’s review."

"“This rule is an abuse of authority and against the law. It is unethical for the federal government to have unchecked control over any attorney’s conduct, and it remains critical for the states to retain their independent authority over attorneys licensed or practicing within their jurisdiction.”"

"The proposed rule is contrary to law because displacing or interfering with State Bar disciplinary proceedings exceeds the U.S Attorney General’s rule making authority and contradicts 28 U.S.C. section 530(B) which requires federal government attorneys to be subject to state laws and rules governing attorneys."

"Of those, Protect Democracy reported only 34 supportive comments, or about 0.1 percent."

"Judges from the Supreme Court of Georgia wrote in a public comment letter, for example, that the rule “threatens significant federal overreach into an area exclusively reserved to the States.”"

"The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has posted an interactive tracking tool to enable attorneys and citizens to check for some of the controversial, unusual or unsuccessful attempted prosecutions by the Justice Department in the first year of Trump's second term."

"The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) condemned a proposed Department of Justice rule that would grant Attorney General Pam Bondi the authority to suspend state bar ethics investigations into current and former DOJ attorneys"

"Critics say allowing the department to delay or sideline state investigations weakens one of the last independent checks on government lawyers."

"Critics of the proposal including mostly Democratic state attorneys general and the American Bar Association warned the rule would erode long-standing state authority over attorney discipline — violating basic tenets of federalism."

""The Bill of Rights wasn't written to be a polite suggestion; it was written to be a shield against tyranny," said NACDL President Andrew Birrell of Minneapolis, in announcing the online tool."

"I think there's a great concern that these attempts to avoid accountability will de-legitimize the processes that have traditionally regulated lawyers."

"Additionally, he said, it violates a 1998 federal law called the McDade-Murtha Amendment. That means any rule — once finalized — could be subject to legal challenge."

""What we are seeing in courtrooms from the Midwest to the coasts is a fundamental, righteous rejection of the idea that criminal law can be used as a tool for political retribution," Birell said."

"which violates the Tenth Amendment and the principle of federalism"

"So this new effort by the DOJ "clearly violates" that amendment and thus federal law, Carle said."

"In comments on the proposed rule, the group urged the DOJ to go even further and give itself exclusive authority over ethics complaints."

"A search of the database, which is continuing to be expanded, by Sunday contained 11 prosecutions in which the Justice Department failed to secure an indictment. Several of the cases were dismissed, the department is pursuing charges in the D.C. Superior Court in a couple of cases and in one — the case against James — the government has filed a notice of appeal ."

"Congress gave the Department authority to assure its attorneys comply with ethics rules. It did not give the Department authority to become the sole gatekeeper of whether those rules are ever enforced at all."

"Judges from the Supreme Court of Georgia wrote in a public comment letter, for example, that the rule "threatens significant federal overreach into an area exclusively reserved to the States.""

"The fact that this tracker needs to exist speaks to the imploding credibility of the Department of Justice, where no bills were once extraordinarily rare."

"Now, they're debuting a tool to help track criminal cases that appear to involve irregular charging practices, including aggressive legal theories and possible political retribution against President Trump's foes ."

"NACDL urges state bar associations, state supreme courts, and members of the legal profession to submit comments in opposition before the close of the public comment period."

"Critics of the proposal including mostly Democratic state attorneys general and the American Bar Association warned the rule would erode long-standing state authority over attorney discipline — violating basic tenets of federalism."

""We created the Case Tracker because you cannot defend against an enemy you cannot see," said Steven Salky, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C., area who oversees the project. "The Tracker is intended to spotlight for the next several years the unusual cases being prosecuted by the Department of Justice.""

"The new database includes the federal cases against Sean Charles Dunn, who threw a sub sandwich at a federal immigration officer, and Jacob Samuel Winkler, a homeless man accused of directing a laser pointer toward the Marine One presidential helicopter. Juries in Washington, D.C., acquitted both men."

"The tracker, sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), also monitors cases where government charges of resisting federal law enforcement have been undercut by videos and eyewitness accounts from protesters."

""This tracker is an essential tool for an era where federal overreach has become the standard operating procedure," said NACDL Executive Director Lisa Wayne."