Federal Judges Call for Discipline of Protesters on Law School Campuses

According to two federal appeals court judges, law schools should consider informing potential employers if their students engage in protests that disrupt speakers on campus. In an article for the National Review, Judge James Ho of the Fifth Circuit and Judge Elizabeth Branch of the Eleventh Circuit argued that law schools should discipline students who use "disruptive tactics" and teach them to be responsible citizens. The judges suggested that if schools are unwilling to act, they should identify the protesters to future employers. This opinion piece comes in response to the disruption of Judge Kyle Duncan's appearance at Stanford Law School on March 9, where protesters interrupted his speech and engaged in a heated exchange. Videos of the event were posted online.
 

Stanford University officials recently apologized to Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan after his speech at the university was disrupted by protesters on March 9, 2023. In a letter to Duncan, the university officials stated that the incident was inconsistent with their policies on free speech.

Duncan has faced pushback from civil and LGBTQ rights organizations since his nomination by former President Donald Trump to the Fifth Circuit in 2017. These organizations cited his past legal work and argued that he had taken positions harmful to the LGBTQ community.

This incident at Stanford is just the latest example of a conservative speaker being met with protests on a law school campus. It is part of a more significant trend where students "shout down" speakers with whom they disagree.

In response to the incident, Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho and Eleventh Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote an opinion piece for the National Review that called for law schools to punish students who use disruptive tactics during protests. They also suggested that schools should inform employers if they admit potentially disruptive individuals into their organizations.

Ho and Branch have voiced their concerns regarding free speech and student protests on college campuses. He made headlines in the past for his boycott of hiring future clerks from Yale Law School due to what he perceived as the school's poor handling of student demonstrations at events featuring conservatives on campus. Branch later joined him in the boycott.

The two judges are scheduled to speak at Yale Law School about friendships across divides and judging in partisan times, along with several other federal judges.