The American College of Trial Lawyers is working with Etre Communications as it pushes back against verbal attacks on the federal judge handling a fraud case against president candidate Donald Trump's former school.
Trump has made racially charged comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel, questioning the judge's impartiality because of his family's Mexican heritage.
Without naming Trump, the College, an invitation-only group that fosters standards for trial and appellate attorneys, expressed concern about "recent comments and their effect on the independence of the judiciary." President Michael Smith said,"Political attacks on judges pose a direct threat to judicial independence."
Etre is the Virginia-based PR firm of former Health Diagnostic Laboratory PR execs Paul Spicer and Leslie Strickler.
Smith urged political candidates and commentators to refrain from attacks on individual judges.
Eliza Gano is communications manager for the College.
Trump fired back at criticism of his remarks this week -- House Speaker Paul Ryan called the comments "racist" -- claiming his comments were "misconstrued" and changing course to argue prior rulings in the case led him to question the fairness of his trial.
The principles of liberty, self-government and individual rights are often discussed as matters of history. Last week in Odesa, Ukraine, I was reminded they are also very much matters of the present. 
How risks and opportunities have evolved for communicators in the second Trump administration.
Too many executives view public affairs as a technical task. They think that if their policy is strong, their facts are correct, and their lawyers are ready, the outcome will naturally follow. That’s a dangerous misconception.
A majority of Americans (52 percent) say president Trump launched the invasion of Iran in part to distract voters from the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal. Forty percent disagree, according to Drop Site/Zeteo/Data for Progress survey conducted March 6-8.
