Federal Judge Joins Boycott of Yale Law

Elizabeth Branch, a federal judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, is joining a concerted push by conservatives on the federal judiciary to no longer hire clerks from Yale Law School. Judge Branch, who was nominated for the Eleventh Circuit by Donald Trump in 2017, informed National Review of her decision in response to NR’s inquiry about the trend, citing the “legitimate concerns” that had been “recently raised . . . about the lack of free speech on law school campuses, Yale in particular.” Branch is the 14th federal judge to have pledged to decline clerkships from Yale Law over the course of the past nine days.

The push to remove Yale Law clerkship applicants from consideration began last Thursday, when NR broke the news that Judge James C. Ho, who serves on the Fifth Circuit, delivered a speech at a Kentucky Federalist Society conference titled, “Agreeing to Disagree — Restoring America by Resisting Cancel Culture,” that cited Yale Law as “one particular law school where cancellations and disruptions seem to occur with special frequency.” “Starting today, I will no longer hire law clerks from Yale Law School,” Judge Ho announced. “And I hope that other judges will join me as well.”

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Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

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Elizabeth Branch, a federal judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, is joining a concerted push by conservatives on the federal judiciary to no longer hire clerks from Yale Law School. Judge Branch, who was nominated for the Eleventh Circuit by Donald Trump in 2017, informed National Review of her decision in response to NR’s inquiry about the trend, citing the “legitimate concerns” that had been “recently raised . . . about the lack of free speech on law school campuses, Yale in particular.” Branch is the 14th federal judge to have pledged to decline clerkships from Yale Law over the course of the past nine days.

The push to remove Yale Law clerkship applicants from consideration began last Thursday, when NR broke the news that Judge James C. Ho, who serves on the Fifth Circuit, delivered a speech at a Kentucky Federalist Society conference titled, “Agreeing to Disagree — Restoring America by Resisting Cancel Culture,” that cited Yale Law as “one particular law school where cancellations and disruptions seem to occur with special frequency.” “Starting today, I will no longer hire law clerks from Yale Law School,” Judge Ho announced. “And I hope that other judges will join me as well.”