Art lovers and community members witnessed a blend of creativity and patriotism as U.S. Army veteran and muralist Juan Velazquez added the finishing touches to a brand-new mural dedicated to the National Medal of Honor Museum in downtown Arlington. This live art experience took place on the west side of Curnutt & Hafer LLP’s newest office location at 311 W. Abram Street, adjacent to the firm’s flagship location at 301 W. Abram Street. Attendees watched the mural come to life in real time.
Each element of the mural holds significance. At the heart of the mural appears Minerva, the Roman Goddess of wisdom, arts, and military skill, representing the strength and ideals honored by the medal, and appears on select versions of the medal awarded. The ribbon and stars symbolize the valor of Medal of Honor recipients, whose actions went above and beyond the call of duty. The words across the mural – Integrity, Valor, Honor, Courage — embody the spirit of the Medal’s values, and align with Curnutt & Hafer’s mission and belief system.
The celebration began with brief remarks from firm founders Kelly Curnutt and Doug Hafer, along with special guests National Medal of Honor Museum President and CEO Chris Cassidy, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, and Greater Arlington Chamber CEO Michael Jacobson. American Idol contestant Odell Bunton, Jr. sang the National Anthem.
The mural is part of the Downtown Arlington public art initiative and was funded by the Arlington Chamber’s Veterans Business Council. Special thanks to grammy-award winning artist Kirk Franklin for facilitating Mr. Bunton’s appearance at this event and to the collaborative efforts of the Arlington Chamber, the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, the City of Arlington, and the Downtown Arlington Management Corporation.
The mural was completed live during this event, which was the hallmark stop on the Downtown Arlington “First Thursdays” festival, on June 5, 2025.
Photo credits: Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Charity Fitch
In 2023, Curnutt & Hafer committed our organizational resources to what we call the Generosity Purpose, which is dedicated to donating a percentage of our firm’s income to charitable organizations that have an impact on the youth in our communities. At our Q2 staff meeting, we reviewed applications submitted by our staff to support eleven 501(c)3 charitable organizations. Because of our collective efforts as a legal team, we were ultimately able to support them all. The Wyatt Dickerson Foundation has an especially close personal connection to our team, and we are proud to partner with them in their mission. The Foundation walks alongside families who have experienced the unimaginable loss of a child “by offering solace, resources and a sense of community during their darkest moments.” In addition, they also provide scholarships to students to allow them to pursue their dreams. Our own Pat Wadlington was able to make the presentation in person at our offices in Decatur, and are grateful that we have the opportunity to partner with non-profit organizations in our communities to help them make a difference.
Doug Hafer and Kelly Curnutt (pictured with artist Chris Gonzalez) welcomed Arlington community leaders and friends to the official introduction on March 23rd of the mural “Merciful Wisdom.” You can find it on the East and North sides of the Abram Street headquarters of Curnutt & Hafer, LLP. Known commercially as@CJosephart, Gonzalez’s work was done in collaboration with the Downtown Arlington Management Corporation’s Business Improvement District (BID) grant program . Feel free to come and visit and take a mural selfie to add to your collection!
Two of our teammates here at Curnutt & Hafer, LLP, have been featured in the March 2022 “Women in Business” issue of Arlington Today magazine. Check out the story on page 33 of the digital edition. These two attorneys stay busy with their legal work and are also incredibly active in the Arlington community. We are proud to have them on our team!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Declaration of Independence, Preamble
Abraham Lincoln called the Declaration of Independence “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.” The spirit of the Declaration is seen in our Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
U.S. Const., Preamble
As Americans we prize our freedom, our Liberty. Historically, Liberty has been jealously guarded by the Courts. Over the years, the Supreme Court has sought to explain what Liberty means and what it entails:
“[Liberty] denotes not merely freedom from bodily restraint but also the right of the individual to contract, to engage in any of the common occupations of life, to acquire useful knowledge, to marry, establish a home and bring up children, to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and generally to enjoy those privileges long recognized at common law as essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”
“[Liberty] is not confined to mere freedom from bodily restraint. Liberty under law extends to the full range of conduct which the individual is free to pursue, and it cannot be restricted except for a proper governmental objective.”
Liberty and the freedoms that comes with it, however, are not absolute. For example, “[t]he most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic … .” Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919). The Bolling court also highlighted an important limit on Liberty – “it cannot be restricted except for a proper governmental objective” (highlight added).
Liberty v. Vaccine Mandates
In 1905, in the midst of a small-pox outbreak, the U.S. Supreme Court held that local authorities could mandate vaccination on penalty of a fine for refusal:
“Upon the principle of self-defense, of paramount necessity, a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members.”
In South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom140 S.Ct. 1613 (2020), a local mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenged. Chief Justice John Roberts affirmed the central position of Jacobson v. Massachusetts:
Our Constitution principally entrusts “[t]he safety and the health of the people” to the politically accountable officials of the States “to guard and protect.” Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U. S. 11, 38 (1905). When those officials “undertake to act in areas fraught with medical and scientific uncertainties,” their latitude “must be especially broad.” Marshall v. United States, 414 U. S. 417, 427 (1974). Where those broad limits are not exceeded, they should not be subject to second-guessing by an “unelected federal judiciary,” which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people.
Right now, the focus of the constitutional debate surrounding the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is on the issue of federal power versus states’ rights. The opponents of the mandate argue that the federal government is overstepping its federal powers and interfering with state powers under the Tenth Amendment, which provides that “[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
However that Constitutional issue is resolved, there is still an issue whether any COVID-19 vaccine mandate is Constitutional. As we know from the cases discussed above, the power of government (federal or state) may sometimes prevail over an individual’s Liberty. When that happens, however, the government’s actions must be carefully scrutinized so that the government’s power is “not exceeded.” With that in mind, consider this:
Is the COVID-19 pandemic (1.6% mortality rate[1]) a situation where a “proper governmental objective” (mandated vaccine to protect the masses) should overtake an American’s Constitutional right to Liberty (freedom of choice over one’s body)?
Read the May 2021 cover story to learn more about the history and trajectory of the firm, and why it is noted for its “unparalleled servant leadership.” We also introduced attorney David Petter as the newest member of the team, specializing in wills and estate planning and probate matters. Check it out in the digital edition.
