Another Trump-Appointed Judge Says She Will Stop Hiring Elite Yale Law School Graduates, Citing Concerns About ‘Lack of Free Speech’

By Colin Kalmbacher

A federal appellate judge became the first to signal that she will add her name to a boycott of hiring graduates from Yale Law School for clerkships, an idea first proposed by another appellate judge and fellow appointee of former president Donald Trump.

On Friday, U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sent a statement to National Review to say that she was, eventually, and in a limited fashion, going to join the Handsome Dan ban floated by Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho.

Branch’s statement cites alleged concerns with freedom of speech on the New Haven, Connecticut campus. Yale is a private institution and is not subject to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution like a state actor is.

“My friend, Judge Jim Ho, recently raised legitimate concerns about the lack of free speech on law school campuses, Yale in particular,” the Atlanta-based judge wrote. “Like Judge Ho, I am gravely concerned that the stifling of debate not only is antithetical to this country’s founding principles, but also stunts intellectual growth.”

In late September of this year, Ho made waves by denouncing “cancel culture” during a speech before the Federalist Society.