FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT:
Emily Klinkenborg
Public Relations Coordinator
O: 845.638.5080 | C: 845.825.5650
Honoring 250 Years of American Independence Through the Rule of Law
As we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the signing the Declaration of Independence, we again proclaim to the world “that all men are created equal” and they are endowed with certain inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Liberty. The state of being free from control by authority based on one’s way of life, behavior, religion or political views.
To guarantee our inalienable right to liberty, we have established a system of justice based on the Rule of Law. However, following the Rule of Law to guarantee justice for all Americans is not always an easy task. We must confront a hard truth as we celebrate our independence, that justice for all may make many dissatisfied. Its truest test is not its popularity, but its refusal to deprive any individual of their personal freedom due to their condition, status, occupation, religion, ethnicity or ideology.
In our Country justice is often forged in moments of profound grief and absolute fury. The Rule of Law must stand firm against cries of retribution, no matter how sincere, for punitive punishment of anyone for their civic, personal, social or religious affiliation.
The courtroom cannot become a tumultuous battleground between a clamorous faction of partisan demagogues and the accused. Outcomes in a courtroom must be dictated by evidence against an individual not public emotion, public pressure or threat of political retaliation. The law must protect everyone from public hostility. This is the true price civilized society must pay for liberty.
As John Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and our second President said in his courageous and thankless defense at the trials of the detested British soldiers who fired upon & killed American Patriots at the Boston Massacre:
“To your justice the prisoners fly for an asylum. What is their crime. It is not that they are British soldiers, but that they have been instruments of a tragedy. Look to the law.”
By defending soldiers of America’s enemy, the British Crowns, and in defiance of the ultimatums of American Patriots, John Adams proved that the foundation of American Liberty is not the power of the maddening crowd, but the unyielding Rule of Law.
Prosecutors have an unprecedented role in defending liberty in our society, as Robert H. Jackson, Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Attorney General and the Chief U.S. Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials stated in his seminal essay “The Federal Prosecutor.”
“The citizen’s safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes.”
Your power is used properly when you defy public clamor and local prejudices, when you stand up against the passions of the day to protect the unpopular citizen.
This 4th of July let us joyfully celebrate our freedom and independence and remember that freedom and personal liberty comes at a price. As prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office, we are prepared to pay the price, if necessary, for any American’s Liberty. We must follow the Rule of Law, be it popular or not. Justice is measured in the courtroom by evidence not passion or threat. That is our duty. That is our oath to the Constitution. This is how we honor the founders. Happy 4th of July.
Thomas E. Walsh, II
Rockland County District Attorney
Respectfully,
Emily Klinkenborg
Coordinator of Public Relations
Rockland County District Attorney’s Office
One South Main Street
New City, New York 10956
O: (845) 638-5080
C: (845) 825-5650