On May 1, in observance of Law Day, Mark Kamitomo spoke on the steps of the county courthouse at an event organized by the Washington State Bar Association, sharing his perspective and family history that illustrates why the rule of law is so foundational.
He also shared his perspective in a special piece for The Seattle Times:
Reaffirming oaths on Law Day was matter of principle and of the heart
By Mark Kamitomo
Special to The Seattle Times
On May 1, judges, attorneys and other members of the Washington State Bar Association gathered to reconfirm our oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. At these Law Day events, held on the steps of courthouses in small towns and large cities in Washington and across the country, we stood together across geographical, cultural and political identities to reaffirm the rule of law and our core obligation to support an independent judicial and legal system for all.
The rule of law has its roots in the Constitution and is the principle under which all people, institutions and entities — including government at the highest levels — are held accountable to laws that are equally enforced, independently adjudicated and consistent with international human rights principles.
The courts and the legal community play an integral part in maintaining the rule of law.
When a majority acting intentionally or unintentionally infringes upon the rights of the minority, the courts exist to hear both sides of that controversy. Lawyers are the vehicle through which a fair, objective and impartial resolution should be reached. We have an ethical responsibility to ensure that our advocacy is grounded in fact and existing law.
Today, the foundation under which our Constitution and the rule of law were developed is in peril. We see lawyers who took an oath at the beginning of their careers now promote legal arguments not grounded in fact or existing law. We see courts whose rationale underpinning their rulings strains reasonableness and an objective interpretation of existing law.
When we can no longer trust either the lawyers or the judiciary to act honestly or fairly, the rule of law becomes meaningless, and we no longer have a system of justice where the people’s interests are fairly adjudicated.
My family’s and my journeys are a testament to why the rule of law is important. My father was 12 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed. His family lived in Vancouver, B.C., at the time. His parents immigrated from Japan to Canada at a young age, and my father and his four siblings were all born in Canada. Nonetheless, concerned they posed a danger, the Canadian government followed the United States’ example and interned the majority of Japanese immigrants and those of Japanese heritage, my father’s family included.
More than 8,000 Canadian Japanese were housed at Hastings Park in Vancouver. It was an exhibition site and these families were placed in animal stalls. Many considered themselves Canadians, having never even been to Japan. But as alleged enemies of Canada, they had no rights — and certainly no right to due process.
In 2011, I served as president of the Washington State Association for Justice, and the convention where I accepted that role took place in Whistler, B.C. As my wife and I drove through Vancouver on the way, I thought of how times had changed: Nearly 70 years earlier, my father and his family lived in animal stalls in the same area where I would now assume leadership of a large organization of trial attorneys.
I don’t believe this progress could have been possible without application of the rule of law and tireless advocacy by lawyers that the incarceration was not based on fact, and the judiciary that agreed.
These commonsense principles are now in jeopardy. It is immensely important that we stood together and reaffirmed our constitutional oath — not merely as a matter of principle, but also as a matter of heart: Under our Constitution, the cornerstone of democracy, the same laws apply to all, nobody is above the law and we all have inalienable liberties and rights that no one — not even the government — can infringe upon.
Read the article on The Seattle Times’ website.
