Dear BALIF Members,
BALIF stands in full support of Lambda Legal attorney Carl Charles in response to the outrageous federal indictment filed against him earlier this month in the Middle District of Alabama. Mr. Charles is a highly respected civil rights lawyer who has dedicated his career to safeguarding the rights of transgender people. The indictment – based on a momentary misrecollection of a phone call to the judge’s clerk, later corrected – represents not only a dangerous overreach by federal prosecutors, but a chilling attack on those who defend the most vulnerable in our community.
This indictment is not just about one attorney. It sends a disturbing message to the entire legal profession: advocating for a disfavored community may expose you to criminal prosecution. That message undermines the rule of law and threatens to silence those working to protect our fundamental rights. At a time when transgender people face unprecedented harassment, legal and legislative assaults, political scapegoating, and violence, criminalizing the attorneys who stand up for trans rights marks an alarming escalation.
BALIF will not be silent as defending trans civil rights is criminalized. We join with Lambda and other legal organizations in denouncing this indictment, and we call on the whole legal community and all who value justice to stand with Carl Charles. This attack is unacceptable, toxic to the rule of law, and corrosive to democracy.
In solidarity,
The BALIF Board