NBA Statement on Jeff Sessions' Confirmation as US AG
WASHINGTON (February 8, 2017) –
The National Bar Association issued the following statement in response to the confirmation of attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions.
“Senator Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as attorney general represents a disturbing detour on the long road toward a just, inclusive society based on the rule of law. The National Bar Association's review of Senator Sessions’ record revealed 30 years of racial insensitivity, disregard for equal rights and fair application of the law, as well as open hostility toward the protection of civil rights; rendering him unfit to serve as America’s attorney general.
We are deeply disappointed by those in the Senate who turned their backs on the concept of equal justice under the law and commitment to civil and human rights, by voting to confirm Senator Sessions. Still, we take heart in applauding the actions of Senator Elizabeth Warren and others who persisted in the face of an overt disregard for the precepts of free speech and open debate. As the nation’s oldest and largest national association of predominately African-American lawyers, judges, law professors and law students, we will continue to serve as the nation’s legal conscience. We will remain ever vigilant and will answer the call whenever the legal principles for which we were founded are imperiled.”
ABOUT THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION
The National Bar Association was founded in 1925 and is the nation’s oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 60,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students. The NBA is organized around 23 substantive law sections, nine divisions, 12 regions and 80 affiliate chapters throughout the United States and around the world.
For more information, visit: www.nationalbar.org.
