The Rule of Law: It’s our superpower

Despite deep division and declining trust in institutions in this country, the rule of law still is something Americans can believe in. “It’s kind of our superpower,” Steve Austermiller told dozens of people gathered for a National Law Day celebration in Columbia.

Steve is executive director of the University of South Carolina Rule of Law Collaborative. That organization, along with the Richland County Bar Association, the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Association for Justice, and Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, sponsored the program.

Attorneys and members of the public gathered outside the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse to hear remarks from Steve and Richland County Magistrate R. Allyce Bailey. Afterward, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. led the attorneys present in reaffirming the Lawyer’s Oath.

“I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications,” the oath reads, in part.

That’s a pledge that everyone, even non-attorneys, should make.

Magistrate Bailey reminded those gathered that defending the rule of law is up to everyone, not just to those in the legal profession. “Law Day reminds us that the rule of law is not automatic,” she told the crowd. “It is not self-sustaining. It depends every day on institutions, lawyers, judges, and citizens who are willing to uphold it, protect it, and pass it forward.”

At Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, we commit anew every day to moving law forward and passing the rule of law forward. Won’t you join us?