At the national level, lawyers dominate politics in the United States.

202 members of the current Congress list law as one of their occupational backgrounds, including more than half of the Senate and more than a third of the House of Representatives, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

The only occupations listed more frequently than law are legislators/politics and business.

A popular view of the legal profession in the U.S. is that it teaches how to relentlessly argue for one side regardless of the facts – basically, today’s political climate in a nutshell. Therefore, it’s easy to point at the seemingly endless dysfunction and gridlock in Congress and blame it on the lawyers.

However, that criticism is overly simplistic and ignorant of the history of government in the U.S.

Twenty-five of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers, as were more than half of the framers of the Constitution. Twelve of the first 16 U.S. presidents practiced law, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Abraham Lincoln. 

Clearly, many of the foundational ideas that set the U.S. apart as a great country originated from the best legal minds of the time.

“In the U.S., law and politics are inherently connected, (even though) we tend to romanticize the law and see it as outside of politics. That’s just not reality,” said Rick Davis, an instructor at WSU’s School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs.

Obviously, the presence of lawyers in American politics is nothing new. So is it reasonable to blame them for political dysfunction nowadays?

“I don’t think so many lawyers being in government contributes to government inefficiency,” Davis said. “That has more to do with institutional problems. Lawyers simply tend to have a specialized skill set that transfers over nicely into more overtly political spheres.”

Still, some feel that the overwhelming prevalence of lawyers and businessmen in Congress sends the wrong message.

Famed astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson summed up this view in a 2011 appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

“When I was a kid, I wondered what profession all these (politicians) were: law, law, law, businessman, law. Where are the engineers? Where is the rest of life represented here?” Tyson said.

Tyson clearly envisions an ideal scenario where every profession is represented evenly in government and children can aspire to take part in the political system regardless of their professional ambitions.

However, given the reality of U.S. politics and its inextricable relationship with law, this scenario is simply unrealistic. Politicians with backgrounds in law will continue to fill the halls of Congress as long as that relationship persists.

While the political discourse would certainly benefit from a wider range of views and backgrounds, it’s unfair to say that the problem in American politics is too many lawyers.

Russell Behrmann is a senior communication major from Bellevue. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.