About the Author

Impeachment and Conviction Aren't the Only Ways to Save Our Democracy

The American Oath Project

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MEET KEVIN K. JOHNSON

Kevin K. Johnson, MA, JD is a California civil trial and appellate lawyer and mediator with more than four decades of experience litigating against major oil companies, national insurance carriers, and the U.S. Government.

Rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell – a distinction held by fewer than 5% of attorneys nationwide – he has represented Fortune 500 companies, served on nonprofit boards, and organized voter turnout efforts in four presidential elections. He is the author of the recently released book The American Oath Project: Protecting the Backbone of Democracy.

Professional Background

EDUCAtion

Kevin Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in govemment from the University of Redlands (1975), a master's degree in political science from Rutgers University (1976), and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Califomia at Davis (1980). He worked as a Contracts Teaching Assistant for two years while in law school.

CIVIL TRIAL court & APPELLATE LAWYER

He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1980 and is an experienced civil trial and appellate lawyer. He holds the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent Attorney rating of "AV," reflecting the highest level of legal ability and ethics as rated by legal peers and the judiciary. Fewer than five percent of attorneys nationwide have the equivalent standing.

LITIGATOR & MEDIATOR

Johnson is also admitted to practice in the Central and Southern U.S. District Courts in California and before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has negotiated with and/or litigated against major oil companies, national insurance carriers, regional and local governments, the State of California, and the U.S. Government. He has represented Fortune 500 Companies, routinely guided litigation clients into and through mediations, is credentialed as a mediator, and has assisted as a mediator and/or moderator in a variety of settings and jurisdictions.

Volunteer, Activist, Author

Johnson has served on a variety of non-profit boards since the mid-1980s and was active in nationwide "Get Out the Vote" efforts during the 2008, 2012, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections. In late 2025, he published his first book – The American Oath Project: Protecting the Backbone of Democracy. Follow him on social media: Substack | Facebook | Bluesky

Forged by Witnessing Government Abuses of Power

INVESTIGATING NIXON ADMIN.

Johnson was first exposed to government abuse early in his career. One experience of note was working for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1975 and investigating the Nixon Administration's manipulation of the federal civil service through planned, "constructive terminations" of career civil servants to create job openings for political supporters.

india

From 1976 to 1977, Johnson attended graduate school classes at Punjab University, in the city of Chandigarh in Northern India – studying the impact of religious traditions on Indian politics. When he first arrived, Indians had been living under a National Emergency declared a year earlier by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Emergency allowed censorship of the press, suspension of civil liberties, arrests of political opponents and a consolidation of power without judicial oversight. An ongoing National Family Planning Program forced sterilizations on approximately 8.1 million young Indian men and women. In rural villages, there were instances where police arrived unannounced in buses at dawn, grabbed young people at random and took them to be sterilized without any form of due process.

IRAN & ISRAEL

On the way home from India, Johnson visited Tehran that was ruled at the time by the Shah of Iran, a dictator installed through a U.S.-supported coup. After Iran, Johnson worked as a volunteer on a "kibbutz" in Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea, near the Gaza Strip. Armed guards patrolled the "kibbutz" 24 hours a day as there was a constant threat of terrorist attacks. "It was very unsettling being around people every day with Uzi machine guns casually strapped over their shoulders."

CLEVELAND, oh

Fast forward to 2008 -2012, when Johson worked as a volunteer lawyer in a "Voter Protection" capacity during early voting at the Downtown Registrar's Office in Cleveland, Ohio. He answered voter questions and helped ensure that everyone legally qualified could vote. In 2012, he observed firsthand how newly adopted state election laws sought to suppress the black vote in Cleveland by drastically limiting, compared to 2008, the days and hours available for early voting.

CALIFORNIA

Next, Johnson moved to California, where he still resides. Throughout his career, he has observed a wide range of individual conflicts and government abuses and continues to work to resolve disputes whenever possible. Success, however, depends upon people being willing to talk to each other, to make agreements in good faith and to keep their word. In late 2025, he published his book The American Oath Project: Protecting the Backbone of Democracy.