Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 2, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Protecting the rule of law BY RYAN AVERY Special to WBJ I n 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established Law Day as a day of national dedication to the princi- ples of government under law. Starting in 1961, Law Day has been celebrated annually on May 1. It is a time to reflect on the significance of the Constitution and all the rights and privileges it affords us. Among the Constitution's guiding principles are those ensuring all people are entitled to freedom of speech, the right to due process, and to equal protection. ese rights are afforded to everyone with their feet on (or above) American soil, regardless of their wealth, status, or beliefs. e rule of law affects us all in one way or another and, for most of us, has little to do with political freedom. ink of buying a home or starting a business without the confidence of knowing the rule of law and the courts were there to help ensure your civil and commer- cial rights were protected and enforced. Imagine not hav- ing effective recourse if you felt those rights were being compromised. For almost 250 years, these principles have set us apart from other countries. At the center of the rule of law is an independent judi- ciary, which is paramount to our democracy and the sep- aration of powers upon which it is built. Judges must be able to make decisions based on the law and the facts of a case, not due to fear of political pressure, intimidation, or retaliation. Lawyers must be free from intimidation or retribution when representing clients and ensuring their clients comply with court orders, even those adverse to the government. is autonomy is critical to the U.S. justice system and essential to upholding the rule of law. Attempts to bypass the Constitution or to work around our justice system weaken its effectiveness. ey erode the public's trust in our leaders and our expectation of fairness in the courts. No one is above the law. In too many cases, the mantra of the President Donald Trump Administration appears to be, "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission, but it's best to ask for neither." Embarrassingly, we read almost daily of actual (and sometimes flagrant) constitutional and statuto- ry violations committed by the federal government. Among other chaotic and wildly unconstitutional ideas inundating the public square today, we hear calls for the impeachment of judges simply for issuing such decisions. ese calls must be loudly met and rejected. Confusion breeds fear, and fear oen results in silence. Now is not the time to remain silent. On May 1, members of the Worcester County Bar Association participated in an oath reaffirmation ceremony, swearing to uphold the constitutions of the U.S. and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All of us, regardless of heritage, education, profession, or political leaning, owe it to ourselves, our fellow Americans, and to our prosperity, to do the same. Ryan Avery is a partner at Worcester law firm Seder & Chandler and president of the Worcester County Bar Association. e clean energy sector deserves our support Ryan Avery H eat pumps have become all the rage in building technology, especially this past year. It's probably because federal incentives may be going away soon, and the price of the units is likely heading north. Despite what the name suggests, heat pumps both cool and heat buildings by exchanging the air within a building with an outside source, such as the air, water, or ground. ey have a strong track record of using less electricity than central cooling systems and window air conditioners, and they don't directly burn fossil fuels like furnaces. Shipments of new heat pumps actually surpassed gas furnaces in 2022 as the leading source of heating and cooling systems. at popularity has been supercharged this year, as building owners are now rushing to install heat pumps out of concerns over the impact of tariffs on prices, as well as fears the federal tax incentives will sunset in the new bill being put forth in Washington, D.C., as WBJ Managing Editor Eric Casey reports in his "Cooler & warmer" story on page 12. If the focus is on preserving and growing good jobs, heat pumps are good for the national and regional economies. More than 3.5 million people work in the U.S. clean energy sector, according to a September report released by the nonprofit E2, which advocates for policies jointly beneficial to the economy and the environment. at study relied on 2023 data, which was the first full year under the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided a variety of incentives for clean energy projects. In 2024, com- panies invested $273 billion in U.S. clean energy, according to a joint study by MIT and New York- based researcher Rhodium Group. Massachusetts is home to more than 100,000 workers employed in the clean energy sector, which contributes $14 billion to the state's economy, according to the Mas- sachusetts Clean Energy Center. e version of President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill passed by the House of Representa- tives basically does away with clean energy incen- tives, including those supporting heat pump instal- lation, as well as solar and battery storage, which is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the U.S. Given the damage this will do to thousands of small businesses and jobs, it feels like we're shooting ourselves in the foot. e U.S. Senate still has to take up the legisla- tion, and the Senate would be wise to eschew the short-term thinking surrounding Trump's anti-clean energy wave and consider the long-term impact of scuttling so many initiatives that have helped build this important sector, with the majority of those incentives going to Republican-leaning states. Our country will need to generate enormous amounts of energy over the next couple decades, and supporting clean energy projects is not only good for the econo- my and job growth, but also our long term future. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. W W

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