This study, based on data from 74 law school faculty from 44 law schools in the United States, measures law faculty sentiment on the state of democracy in the USA, the extent to which it is threatened, and the measures taken by law schools and faculty in response. The study helps its readers to answer questions such as: Do law school faculty think democracy is threatened in the USA? If so, to what extent? Who is responsible? Should law schools play a role in ameliorating this situation? If so, how? What has been done already? What actions should law school administration or legal profession professional bodies take in response to threats to democracy? Is it the role of the law school to support democracy in China? Iran? Latin America? Other countries and regions? If so, what has been done or might be done?
Data in the report is broken out by institutional and personal faculty variables, including size, public private status, law school ranking and geographic location of the respondent’s law school, and legal research specialty, work title and political views of the personal respondent. Commentary is broken out by the law school ranking of the respondents affiliated institution.
Just a few of this 117-page report’s many findings are that:
-
20.27% of survey participants believe that both major parties are equally responsible for the deterioration of democracy in the USA.
-
27.03% of survey participants had written an article this year with the express purpose of defending democracy and the rule of law.
-
42.48% of respondents from law schools located in the US Northeast felt it was the role of the legal profession to penalize or punish lawyers who publicly deny the validity of the results of the 2020 US presidential election.
-
30.37 of political conservatives in the sample believe that US law schools should agitate for and support democracy outside of the United States.