More than 1,000 law professors have signed a letter to Senators Leahy and Grassley expressing "deep concern about the discourse surrounding the Senate vote on the confirmation of Debo Adegbile as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights."
Numerous Senators (including both Democrats and Republicans) recently voted against Mr. Adegbile at least in part because he represented death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, a man convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. The letter makes a number of powerful arguments for why Mr. Adegbile's work should not have been held against him in the confirmation process.
John Steele previously referenced the story here, and we have covered related issues over the years (e.g., here, here, here, and here.) Unfortunately, the unfair criticism of lawyers who represent unpopular clients is a perennial problem that appears to be growing in frequency as political discourse coarsens.