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LetMyPeopleVote

(154,427 posts) Sun Nov 17, 2024, 10:50 AM Sunday

Fifth Circuit's Jones Tears Into Vladeck Over Judge-Shopping

Last edited Sun Nov 17, 2024, 11:35 AM - Edit history (1)

Unfortunately, I have met Edith Jones. Back 30 or so years ago, I was the president of my Temple's service auxiliary which was the chartering organization for our Boy Scout Troop. As the chartered organization representative, I attended a luncheon at the local BSA headquarters in Houston and Jones was one of the attendees. At the event, I remember that she was introduced but not asked to speak and she seemed miffed at this.

I was sorry to see Prof. Vladeck leave the Univ. of Texas law school.

I am not surprised that Jones is defending the practice of forum or judge shopping. Judge shopping is very illegal and unethical that the fact that this person defends such practice is sad.

Link to tweet

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/fifth-circuits-jones-tears-into-vladeck-over-judge-shopping

Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones delivered a forceful rebuke of what she described as “unsavory” attacks against the judges within her circuit, spurring a tense exchange with a Georgetown Law professor who studies judge-shopping.

US district court judges within the conservative US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have come “under relentless attacks during the last several years by certain professors, including notably, Professor Vladeck,” said Jones, a Reagan appointee. Jones was referring to Georgetown Law professor Stephen Vladeck as they served together at a Federalist Society conference panel Thursday.

“Something’s going on here, and it’s very unsavory,” Jones said. “Attacks on the judiciary, I fully agree with the others, are ultimately attacks on the rule of law.”

Several Texas trial courts within the Fifth Circuit contain single-judge divisions, a structure that permits parties to choose their judge when filing cases, a practice known as judge-shopping.

The Northern District of Texas, in particular, has emerged as a hub for conservative litigants challenging Biden administration rules in these single-judge courts where Trump-appointed judges generally hear all cases.

Vladeck had argued, during his opening remarks, that congressional efforts to curb judge-shopping are “not a threat to judicial independence.”

8 replies

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Highlight:

Fifth Circuit's Jones Tears Into Vladeck Over Judge-Shopping (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Sunday OP

Prof. Vladek is correct to attack forum or judge shopping LetMyPeopleVote Sunday #1

She didn't address the issue: Judge shopping. Grins Sunday #2

Unhinged Federal Judge Thinks Criticizing Judge Shopping Causes Death Threats LetMyPeopleVote Sunday #3

Spot on ck4829 Monday #8

Edith Jones' attacks on Professor Vladeck brought back some bad memories LetMyPeopleVote Monday #4

Fucking loon dalton99a Monday #5

Jones is indeed a loon LetMyPeopleVote Monday #6

The Fifth Circuit is a joke. I stand with Professor Vladeck. ck4829 Monday #7

LetMyPeopleVote

(154,427 posts)

1. Prof. Vladek is correct to attack forum or judge shopping

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Sun Nov 17, 2024, 10:51 AM

Sunday

Link to tweet

Grins

(7,884 posts)

2. She didn't address the issue: Judge shopping.

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Sun Nov 17, 2024, 11:10 AM

Sunday

Instead, it was ad hominem attack against a law professor pointing out the obvious.

As for:

“Attacks on the judiciary… are ultimately attacks on the rule of law.”

“Justices and judges Engoron, Merchan, and Curiel, Chutcan, on lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, judge Jones….”

I started a file years ago in order to keep personal record of threats made by Republicans against the judiciary, back when they were screaming at the top of their lungs, “Activist judges!” and threatening them - and their families.

I have comments by Democrats about court decisions, but ZERO threatening a judge.

LetMyPeopleVote

(154,427 posts)

3. Unhinged Federal Judge Thinks Criticizing Judge Shopping Causes Death Threats

Reply to Grins (Reply #2)

Sun Nov 17, 2024, 11:34 AM

Sunday

Judge Jones has accused Prof. Vladek and others who criticize forum or judge shopping of endangering the lives of these judges.
https://abovethelaw.com/2024/11/unhinged-federal-judge-thinks-criticizing-judge-shopping-causes-death-threats/

Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones took the opportunity of sitting next to Georgetown University Law Center Professor Steve Vladeck to go, I believe the technical term is “absolutely bonkers.” An eye-popping and eye-rolling meltdown from a federal judge.

Let’s not undersell this… conservatives were aghast at her behavior:

Link to tweet

.......But Jones has one more bonkers conclusion to close off this trip through the Magical Folder Of Mundane:

The consequence of all this is, Judge Kacsmaryk is under 24 hour day protection. He has five kids. someone has been indicted for a depth threat against him.

Ahem.

Seriously, is that the consequence of criticizing district judge assignment rules? Because it’s probably the result of his abortion pill opinion that even this Supreme Court thought so poorly thought out that it unceremoniously kicked it to the curb.

That’s not the assignment rules. That’s the ruling. As Professor Brian Frye put it, “The idea that anyone would threaten the life of a federal judge based on a disagreement about how to apply venue rules is frankly risible.” Maybe that’s too far… maybe there’s a 1L out there whose civil procedure final was totally wrecked by the Fifth Circuit’s position and they missed out on law review and want revenge!

The Fifth Circuit approves of and supports forum or judge shopping. I agree with Prof. Vladeck that this practice is unethical. Jones is an unhinged nutcase

ck4829

(35,905 posts)

8. Spot on

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #3)

Mon Nov 18, 2024, 01:41 PM

Monday

LetMyPeopleVote

(154,427 posts)

4. Edith Jones' attacks on Professor Vladeck brought back some bad memories

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Mon Nov 18, 2024, 12:36 PM

Monday

As discussed in the OP, I met Jones back 30+ years ago when I was on the board of my temple and was the president of the men's service auxiliary which was the chartering organization for the temple's Boy Scout Troop. I was one on the founders of that troop. Around 30 years ago, I attended a BSA luncheon and met Jones. I had a bad feeling about her which has been confirmed.

Those were interesting times for our scout troop. A few years before, the BSA won a SCOTUS case where the court approved the removal of a gay scout leader for wearing his scout uniform to gay pride events. Around then BSA adopted a rule that LGBTQ could not be in BSA. At the time, my temple and the other large reform congregation in Houston had scout troops and neither troop abided by this rule. I had to defend the troop to the board and explain that we did not care about the sexual orientation of any of the scouts or scout leaders and followed a variation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I was able to get the temple's board satisfied with this policy.

BSA is organized into regional groups and the local regional group, the Sam Houston Area Council, is one of the largest groups in BSA. Each regional group is divided into smaller units called districts. My troop and the other Jewish troop were both part of a district that was very liberal and had some LGBTQ leaders. I know that a couple of the leaders who taught me some scouting skills were LGBTQ but no one cared so long as these leaders did not wear their scout uniforms to gay pride events. The temple asked me to confirm our troop's policy with Council leadership which was a fun meeting. The other leader and I hinted that the boards of the two temples included a good number of board members of the United Way who were very supportive of our troop's policy. United Way and other such groups had issues with the BSA policy on LGBTQ scouts and leaders. https://www.change.org/p/united-way-denounce-the-boy-scout-s-policy-banning-gay-youth-and-parents. The leadership was happy to confirm that they were happy with "Don't ask, Don't Tell" and we had no problems.

The fact that Jones was so active with this council still bothers me. She is not a nice person, and I suspect that she would have been mad at my district's leadership included LGBTQ leaders. Again, Jones is a nutcase

dalton99a

(84,257 posts)

5. Fucking loon

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Mon Nov 18, 2024, 12:45 PM

Monday

In 2011, Jones yelled at her colleague James L. Dennis during an oral argument, telling him to "shut up." She later apologized for her "inappropriate language" and stated that Dennis accepted her apology.[15]

A group of civil rights organizations and legal ethicists filed a complaint of misconduct against Jones on June 4, 2013, after she had allegedly said that "racial groups like African-Americans and Hispanics are predisposed to crime" and are "prone to commit acts of violence" that are more "heinous" than members of other ethnic groups.[16][17] According to the complaint, Jones also stated that a death sentence is a service to defendants because it allows them to make peace with God and that she "referred to her personal religious views as justification for the death penalty."[18] Jones allegedly made the remarks during a speech to the University of Pennsylvania Federalist Society. However, the speech was not recorded, and the ethics complaint was based solely on affidavits from audience members.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Jones