Judges Leading Boycott Of Yale Law School Note Positive Free Speech Developments

Following up on yesterday's post, Yale Hosts Discussion Tonight On 'Is Free Speech Dead On Campus?' With Federal Judges Leading Boycott Of Yale Law School:  Yale Daily News, Course Correction Underway at Yale Law, Boycotting Judges Say:

Around 80 students crammed into an unassuming Harkness Hall classroom Wednesday afternoon to hear from the two figures largely responsible for Yale Law School’s widespread media attention in recent months.

Judges James C. Ho and Elizabeth Branch, both prominent conservative appointees of former president Donald Trump, made headlines when they publicly announced they would no longer be hiring clerks from Yale Law School.

On Wednesday, the boycotting duo engaged in a discussion about free speech on college campuses moderated by law professor Akhil Reed Amar, whom Ho singled out as a personal friend at the beginning of his remarks.

“Cancel culture is a cancer on our culture,” Ho said in his opening statement to the room. “And we need to cure it before it’s too late.”

Branch also confirmed to the News that she and Ho would be attending a panel organized by Yale Law School administration at the beginning of next year. She went on to explain that the invitation to the panel made no reference to her and Ho’s boycott. ...

Both Ho and Branch acknowledged “positive improvements” in the climate around speech at Yale Law. Ho specifically singled out a Federalist Society discussion featuring former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell earlier this month. ...

During the panel, Branch made reference to the possibility that Kristen Waggoner, a conservative American lawyer, would be returning to campus. Waggoner’s presence on a Federalist Society panel last year spurred protests due to her affiliation with a Southern Poverty Law classified hate group.

The Yale Law School press office declined to comment on whether or not Waggoner would be returning.

• ABA Journal, 2 Federal Appeals Judges Boycotting Yale Law Clerks See Progress in Campus Tolerance for Conservative Views
• Bloomberg Law, Judges ‘Hope’ Their Planned Yale Clerk Ban Can Be Avoided
• National Law Journal, ‘Stop the Cancellations’: Judges Boycotting Hiring Yale Clerks Talk Campus Free Speech

TaxProf Blog coverage:

• A Prominent Federal Judge Says He Will No Longer Hire Law Clerks From Yale. Will Other Judges Follow? (Sept. 30, 2022)
• Conservatives Should Oppose Boycott Of Yale Law Students In Judicial Law Clerk Hiring (Oct. 1, 2022)
• More On Judge Ho's Proposed Boycott Of Yale Law School Grads For Judicial Clerkships (Oct. 3, 2022)
• 12 Federal Judges Join Boycott, Refuse To Hire Yale Students As Law Clerks (Oct. 5, 2022)
• 14th Federal Judge Join Boycott, Refuses To Hire Yale Students As Law Clerks (Oct. 8, 2022)
• Professors, Judges Speak Out Against Boycott Of Yale Grads For Judicial Clerkships (Oct. 10, 2022)
• Yale Law Dean Trumpets Free Speech Stance Amid Federal Judges' Clerk Boycott  (Oct. 13, 2022)
• More On The Boycott Of Yale Grads For Judicial Clerkships (Oct. 19, 2022)
• Judge Ho: Restoring America by Resisting Cancel Culture (Oct. 22, 2022)
• Is Yale Law School Turning Over A New Leaf? (Oct. 22, 2022)
• Judge Ho's Boycott Of Yale Grads For Clerkships Violates The Code Of Judicial Conduct (Oct. 24, 2022)
• Inside Higher Ed: Free Speech Concerns Prompt Calls To Shun Yale Law Grads (Oct. 25, 2022)
• Justice Alito Takes Direct Aim At Law Schools For ‘Abysmal’ And ‘Dangerous’ Free Speech Climate As Conservative Judges Boycott His Alma Mater (Oct. 27, 2022)
• Yale Hosts Discussion Tonight On 'Is Free Speech Dead On Campus?' With Federal Judges Leading Boycott Of Yale Law School (Nov. 30, 2022)
• Judges Leading Boycott Of Yale Law School Note Positive Free Speech Developments (Dec. 2, 2022)