An Open Letter To Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken

Update: 

• David Lat, The Newest Insanity Out Of Yale Law School (Nov. 4, 2021)
• Simon Lazarus (J.D. 1967, Yale), Where Yale Law School Has Gone Off The Rails, And What Is Needed To Get Back On Track (Nov. 13, 2021)
• David Lat, Yale Law School And The Federalist Society: Caught In A Bad Romance? (Nov. 15, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Yale's Akhil Amar Calls Law School Administration's Handling Of 'Trap House' Email Controversy 'Dishonest, Duplicitous, And Downright Deplorable' (Nov. 16, 2021)
• David Lat & Eugene Volokh (UCLA), More On The Two Yale Law School Controversies (Nov. 17, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon & Josh Blackman (South Texas),  Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken Admits Error, Stops Short Of Apologizing To Targeted Students; Law Prof Calls For Conservative Yale 1Ls To Transfer (Nov. 18, 2021)

Following up on my previous posts (links below):  Peter Berkowitz (J.D. 1990, Yale; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution), An Open Letter to Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken:

Dear Dean Gerken,
Many years ago, when I was a student at Yale Law School, the institution prided itself on providing a continuation of liberal education. I greatly valued the opportunity to supplement the standard legal studies curriculum with forays into the classics of English jurisprudence; explorations of different bodies of religious law and the interpretative traditions to which they gave rise; philosophical reflections on the limits of reason, legal and otherwise; and, in the effort to understand the intricacies of American constitutional law, readings in history, literature, political thought, and sociology. By going beyond the teaching of technical expertise in black-letter law, Yale enabled students to gain an appreciation of the place of law and the courts in a free and democratic society.

At the same time, worrying signs back then cast doubt on the strength of Yale Law School’s commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of free and open inquiry, a vital prerequisite of liberal as well as legal education. A progressive orthodoxy reigned at the law school. The majority — among students as well as faculty — seemed to regard the conservative viewpoint as an aberration to be frowned upon but which in small doses could be tolerated. Particularly in constitutional law classes, probing analysis of both sides of the argument tended to give way to advocacy for progressive outcomes. Some of my classmates were disposed to define race partly in terms of political opinions. According to their calculations, if a faculty member could not be counted on to affirm prescribed beliefs — on, say, abortion or affirmative action — then, for the purpose of measuring law-school-faculty diversity, that professor should not be classified as belonging to a historically disadvantaged group, regardless of the professor’s skin color, ethnicity, or sex.

Judging by the Trent Colbert affair, the worrying tendencies visible during my days at Yale have worsened considerably. Because of the school’s disproportionate role in training the nation’s law professors and judges, restoration on campus of the understanding and practice of liberty of thought and discussion is particularly urgent. ...

To assist you in ameliorating dispositions to take offense, chill protected speech, and censor that have gained a foothold at Yale, I offer three proposals to reinvigorate a culture of free speech at the law school and throughout the university.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Ruth Marcus (Washington Post), At Yale Law School, a Party Invitation Ignites a Firestorm (Oct. 15, 2021)
• Kathleen Parker (Washington Post), Yale Law School Triggers Me (Oct. 16, 2021)
• David Lat, Yale Law Student Who Sent 'Trap House' Email Faces Removal As 2L Rep (Oct. 18, 2021)
• Andrew Koppelman (Northwestern), Yale Law School’s Bullying, Coercive Diversity Leaders (Oct. 19, 2021)
• Yale Daily News, Racism, Conservatism And Free Speech At Yale Law School (Oct. 20, 2021)
• Eugene Volokh (UCLA), Lawyers, Law Students, Law School Administrators, And Language (Oct. 22, 2021)
• The Atlantic, A Worrisome Peek Inside Yale Law’s Diversity Bureaucracy (Oct. 23, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Backlash Against Media Coverage Of The Yale Law School 'Trap House' Email (Oct. 25, 2021)
• Trent Colbert (Yale 2L), Why I Didn’t Apologize For That Yale Law School Email: 'We Must End The Culture Of Performative Repentance' (Oct. 26, 2021)