Constitution Day is for We the People — not our fractured politics | Opinion

As seen on the Bergen Record and special to the USA TODAY Network

It’s Constitution Day in America, and we implore all Americans to understand that the United States Constitution must remain the foundational bedrock of our democracy. On this day in 1787, the Founders established a set of rules and principles designed to ensure that our debates are resolved through law and discourse rather than by force or fear.

The Constitution has survived many crises – including the Civil War, the Great Depression, and Watergate. That our Nation has thrived despite these crises is a reminder that our greatest strength is not the absence of disagreements or challenges but instead a testament to the framework we have for resolving those disputes and challenges.

As a career trial lawyer and former United States Attorney – serving under both political parties – I have routinely dealt with differences of thought, opinion, and political affiliation. But I have never seen what we are witnessing today, where partisan politics and competing ideologies are becoming mistaken for the constitutional rules and principles on which our country was founded.

Currently, as President of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), I travel the country representing this preeminent group of more than 5,000 trial lawyers in the United States and Canada. We are among the most experienced trial attorneys in our courtrooms, and we routinely find ourselves advocating for competing outcomes. In the courtroom – regardless of the issues we advocate for or the parties we represent – we engage one another with respect. Even when our clients see things vastly differently, our commitment to civility and professionalism remains constant. We need to see more of this mutual respect among our fellow Americans. The Constitution, with its recognition of the need for healthy debate within a framework of checks and balances for decision-making and dispute resolution, can lead us there.

In fact, more Americans than ever are looking to the Constitution as a source of guidance and common ground.

Recent reporting shows there is a strong thirst for access to the Constitution and our nation’s founding principles, despite our political differences. Earlier this year, the Associated Press reported that market researcher Circana – which tracks around 85% of the print retail market – found that editions including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were selling at their fastest pace since the analyst began compiling publication data two decades ago. As a result, Random House pushed to release a hardcover book combining the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The combined book, is now out. It’s clear — We the People want to know our rights.

As Americans, our common purpose and respect for each other must extend beyond our differences. We encourage healthy discourse even as we debate and differ. Our fundamental right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment allows for it – while not protecting ‘true threats’ – which are defined as speech intended to incite violence or cause fear of violence. In addition, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments were designed to protect us from governmental overreach, with the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses ensuring that neither the states nor the federal governments can infringe on our fundamental rights to life, liberty or property without fair legal procedures.

Today’s Americans continue to voice their support for these rights.  Last Constitution Day, a national Cato Institute survey conducted with YouGov showed that 85% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Constitution. When asked to rank the importance of Constitutionally protected rights, 77% cited equal protection under the law as the most important. Seventy percent each cited a fair trial and trial by jury as most important rights, and 68% pointed to due process. Our nation’s leaders, and those with the power of the microphone, should do everything they can to reinforce and protect those rights and make sure that the rule of law, not political interests, governs good-faith disputes over the precise meaning of our Constitutional guarantees.

This Constitution Day let us return to and reflect on the document itself – a document that has guided this nation for almost 240 years.  Let us not cast aside the wisdom of our Founders but instead embrace it, and reject all calls to political action based on hatred, violence and fear.

About the Author
Richard H. “Rick” Deane, Jr. is the 75th President of the American College of Trial Lawyers.