Washington Lawyer - July 2017 - 41

would have provided work permits to more than
five million unauthorized immigrants, as parents
of citizens or authorized workers.
Dazzo has concerns about the current immigration
landscape and the direction in which policies are
heading. "Now priorities have changed," she says.
"Every single person in the United States who is not
here legally is now a priority for deportation.
Immigrants are afraid."
This fear turned into mass protests after President
Trump signed an executive order on January 27,
2017, imposing a 90-day entry ban on citizens of
Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The order was met with almost immediate opposition from protesters, civil rights organizations, and
numerous state attorneys general who filed petitions with the federal courts to block enforcement
of the order. A U.S. district judge in New York was
the first to temporarily block the order, with similar
decisions subsequently handed down across the
country. The administration responded by easing
some of the restrictions of the original travel ban,
before revealing a new version in March. A federal
judge in Hawaii ruled to block it in the hours before
it was scheduled to start.
Local government officials also took a stand in the
immigration debate. So-called "sanctuary cities"
such as Seattle and New York have declared their
refusal to implement immigration policies that
would subject certain undocumented workers to
deportation. The Trump administration responded
with promises to withhold federal funding to cities
not in compliance with federal immigration policies,
prompting lawsuits from several of these cities. In
April 2017, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled
that the administration's attempts to block federal
funding were unconstitutional.

THE SUPREME COURT
This decade saw the addition of two new justices to
the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2010 Justice Elena Kagan
was confirmed as the Court's fourth female justice,
following a nomination by President Obama. In 2016
Justice Antonin Scalia, who served on the Court for
29 years, died of natural causes. Nominated by
President Reagan in 1986 and confirmed by unanimous vote, Scalia was a somewhat controversial
figure at times. He held strong constructionist views
and left an undeniable impact on the Court.
The Court's vacancy was recently filled after a contentious and history-making confirmation hearing.
Senate Democrats sought to filibuster President
Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Court,
but, despite these efforts, Gorsuch was confirmed
as the 101st associate justice of the Supreme Court
on April 7, 2017.
This change to the makeup of the Court was not
the only topic of controversy this decade. On June

28, 2012, the Court upheld major provisions of the
highly debated Affordable Care Act. The narrow
5-4 majority decision was authored by Chief Justice
Roberts in what many considered to be a surprising
split from his conservative views.
The very next year, the Court handed down another
controversial decision, striking down Section 4(b) of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The provision governed
which states were required to obtain authorization
from the federal government before implementing
changes to their voting rights laws. The Court ruled
that the formula, which was based on historical discrimination in voting practices, amounted to disparate
treatment of certain states based on outdated statistical information. Many leaders of the Democratic
Party expressed disappointment with the decision,
while Republicans applauded the Court's protection
of states' rights. It took only hours for several of the
states previously bound under the Section 4(b)
requirements to announce changes to their state
voter identification laws.

THE ELECTION OF
DONALD TRUMP
The 2016 presidential election will go down as one
of the most divisive in American political history.
Trump's election prompted nationwide discussions
about the Electoral College process and voter identification laws. His first 100 days in office resulted in
the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice
and speculation that the federal courts will become
more conservative under his administration.
Several of President Trump's executive orders have
sparked constitutional disputes involving issues of
immigration, presidential powers, and religious
freedoms. The American Bar Association (ABA)
has been vocal in its dismay for the president's
proposed budget, which seeks to eliminate funding
for the Legal Services Corporation. The White
House recently announced that the ABA will no
longer be asked to evaluate potential nominees
to the federal bench.

CHANGES AT THE TOP
The Bar has undergone leadership changes with
Mazzaferri's retirement as CEO after nearly 35 years
of service, and Cynthia Hill as chief programs officer
after nearly 27 years with the Bar. Disciplinary
Counsel Wallace E. "Gene" Shipp has capped his
37-year career of helping attorneys to uphold their
professional responsibilities. In February, the Bar
welcomed Rebecca K. Troth as the new executive
director of the Pro Bono Center, bringing to the Bar
her extensive experience in legal advocacy as well
as management.
Patrick McGlone started his tenure as the Bar's 46th
president for the 2017-18 term. As he shapes his
platform, McGlone says there are two significant

am hoping [the Bar] will
" Iaccomplish
a new model

of engaging its members
and the entire D.C. Bar
community. I would like
to see attempts to engage
millennials and new
lawyers coming into the
profession.

DARRELL G. MOTTLEY
D.C. Bar President, 2011-12

milestones that stand out in his mind. The first is
the construction of the Bar's new headquarters,
which he calls "a tribute to the Bar's record of
accomplishment."
The second is the development of the Pro Bono
Center. "It has become a premier provider of civil
legal services to the residents of D.C.," McGlone
says. "It's a distinctive entity when you look at other
bars around the country. We have developed a
uniquely effective approach in marshalling pro
bono services."
Annamaria Steward, who wrapped up her year as
Bar president on June 14, reflected on the significance of the Bar's 45th anniversary: "I am in awe of
our major accomplishments and proud of our true
and unwavering commitment to improving the
profession and assisting the community."
As the Bar prepares for the next decade, promoting
inclusion and engaging its national and global
membership will remain key.
"I am hoping [the Bar] will accomplish a new model
of engaging its members and the entire D.C. Bar
community. I would like to see attempts to engage
millennials and new lawyers coming into the profession," says Darrell G. Mottley, principal shareholder at Banner and Witcoff who served as Bar
president from 2011 to 2012.
Erika Winston is a regular contributor to Washington
Lawyer.

WASHINGTON LAWYER

JULY 2017 41

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