Judge Denounces Yale Cancel Culture, Refuses to Hire Grads (Newsmax)
By Jay Clemons | Monday, 03 October 2022 04:36 PM EDT
A federal appellate judge confirmed that he will no longer consider graduates of Yale Law School for clerkships, citing the school's alleged penchant for "cancellation of views."
Judge James C. Ho of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeal spoke to the Kentucky Chapters Conference of the Federalist Society last week and openly criticized the so-called intolerant practices trumpeted by Yale Law and its graduates.
"Yale not only tolerates the cancellation of views — it actively practices it," said Ho, a University of Chicago School of Law graduate who was nominated to his federal judiciary post by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.
During his address to the Federalist Society, Ho alluded to a school event in March when more than 100 Yale Law students loudly disrupted a free speech presentation headlined by Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom and Monica Miller of the American Humanist Association.
The Yale students caused a disturbance, recalls Ho, prompting nearby classes to complain. Police apparently then had to escort the speakers safely out of the building and into a police vehicle after the presentation ended.
For that same event, Ho noted that Ellen Cosgrove, an associate dean at Yale Law, had apparently attended the event but "did nothing" to punish the "petulant" protesters.
"It turns out that, when elite law schools like Yale teach their students that there are no consequences to their intolerance and illiberalism, the message sticks with them," said Ho.
During his speech, Ho reportedly encouraged other presiding judges in positions of authority to refuse hiring Yale Law School graduates as law clerks.
"We're not just citizens," Ho reminded his audience. "We're also customers. Customers can boycott entities that practice cancel culture. … I wonder how a law school would feel if my fellow federal judges and I stopped being its customers."
In his closing remarks, Ho reiterated his words shouldn't be construed as an extension of "cancel culture."
"I don't want to cancel Yale. I want Yale to stop canceling people like me," Ho reportedly said.
As Newsmax chronicled in February, a survey conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) revealed a strong majority of poll respondents agreed there was a "growing cancel culture that is a threat to our freedom," particularly among Republicans and independents.
Among the respondents, 73% acknowledged having previously heard of the phrase "cancel culture."
Also, 59% of were convinced that cancel culture had become a growing threat to American liberties, according to the survey.