Power Source profiles Donald Temple, one of D.C.’s most astute legal minds.
By Adoria Doucette
Donald Temple
Under the vaulted ceilings of the central United States Supreme Court chamber the greatest lawmakers of the last 4000 years are showcased. The display begins with Menes, the founder of the first political Dynasty of Egypt, followed by 17 lawmakers across the millennia from around the world, ending with America’s great jurist John Marshall. These figures inculcate the primary fact that courts and law have always been the central battleground of human progress.
Ideas are more powerful than money and armies. A significant portion of our nation’s history has been determined by our laws, courts and lawyers. What we believe to be the greatest treasures of civilization are kept in grand display at our National Archives; only a few feet from their ancient predecessor the Magna Carta (a copy purchased and loaned by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein), the Bill of Rights and Constitution represent forms of mass government that are by definition revolutionary. What has been consistent through time is the effective and just use of the law, best practiced by passionate and capable advocates for legal change and accountability.
