Recently, Judge Ho of the Fifth Circuit issued a concurrence that cited my post, The Audition Trap.
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that → issue → post
The defendant's counsel told the magistrate judge that he had connections to a Texas Senator and other members of government.
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he → tell → government
The counsel warned that he was "consider[ing] asking my Texas friends to write to you and ask why I have to continue waiting" for the resolution of a motion.
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I → warn → motion
The magistrate judge, who was seeking a federal district court appointment, agreed to an ex parte hearing with the lawyer.
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who → seek → lawyer
Judge Ho observed:
Any judge who abuses his office to promote his own interests—including the desire for future appointment—has violated the judicial oath and doesn't belong in his current post, let alone whatever new post he seeks.
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he → observe → post
Just as there are no doubt those on the bench who have strong ambitions for future office, there are others who are happy to be public servants, but who would be just as happy earning their living by some other means.
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who → be → means
For the outside observer, however, it can be difficult to discern which is which.
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which → discern → observer
And therein lies the quandary for the dutiful judge.
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quandary → lie → judge
How should a good judge respond when it's suggested that his exercise of judicial authority might be tainted by his private, personal desire for elevation to another post? . . .
Professor Blackman's point is simple, but important.
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point → respond → post
No one has the power to look into another man's heart and ascertain his actual motivations or ambitions.
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one → have → motivations
Certain actions may seem like auditioning to some, but to others, it's simply doing the job as the judge best sees fit.
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judge → seem → job
So the good judge simply accepts that criticism is a fact of life—and that unrebuttable charges come with the job.
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charges → accept → job
The First Amendment guarantees the right of every citizen to criticize public officials—whether the criticism is fair or unfair.
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criticism → guarantee → officials
Judge Ho and I are often accused of auditioning.
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Ho → accuse → auditioning
Who can look into our hearts to know our true motivations?
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Who → look → motivations
But as I often remind people, if we are auditioning, we are doing so very poorly.
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we → remind → people
The way to get ahead in the world is to keep your head down, make powerful friends, and avoid doing anything that could prove controversial.
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that → get → anything
Fight to overrule Roe v. Wade and you are stuck on the sidelines.
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you → fight → sidelines
Defend municipalities who violate the First Amendment rights of street preachers and you get a circuit court nomination.
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you → defend → nomination
The truth is that those who lob the auditioning accusation are those who are most likely to audition in their own careers.
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who → lob → careers
I noted in my post:
The fact that everyone auditions demonstrates why this charge is so common.
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charge → note → post
As a general matter, people project onto others the flaws they see in themselves.
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they → project → themselves
If you accuse me of auditioning, you can be pretty sure this is something that you have done in the past.
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you → accuse → past
I recently saw some suggestion that I was on some undisclosed payroll.
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I → see → payroll
I wish!
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I → wish → ?
The truth is that I speak my mind, which is not conducive to any paying client.
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which → speak → client
Folks may recall that I had to resign from a job that offered a regular paycheck on a point of principle.
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that → recall → principle
I am grateful some outlets offer me modest honoraria to speak and lecture, but I
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outlets → offer → honoraria
always retain full control over my message--and I often withdraw works when the editing becomes too intrusive.
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editing → retain → works
Indeed, I wrote several posts publicly agonizing about whether to put some of my content behind a paywall as a means to generate some revenue, but I ultimately decided not to so my discretion would remain unfettered.
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discretion → write → revenue
By contrast, as a general matter, managing partners at firms play some role in setting the compensation of their colleagues.
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partners → manage → colleagues
Like I said, people project onto others the flaws they see in themselves.
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they → say → themselves
I wish things were different with the judicial selection process.
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things → wish → process
I wish that Presidents would nominate those who were unafraid to challenge political orthodoxies.
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who → wish → orthodoxies
Steve Calabresi's post today on the 40th anniversary of Justice Scalia's swearing-in provides a flashback to a different time.
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post → provide → time
On June 14, 1986, Judge Scalia was invited to speak at a conference organized by Attorney General Meese.
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Scalia → invite → Meese
The timing was "risky" as President Reagan would interview Scalia for the Supreme Court vacancy on June 16.
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Reagan → interview → June
Scalia could have played things safe, but that was not who Scalia was.
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Scalia → play → things
Calabresi writes:
Given this, most lawyers would say something mild, uncontroversial, and ingratiating toward the attorney general.
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lawyers → write → general
Indeed, as a law professor, he liked to teach against the views of his class and tell them things that they did not ordinarily want to hear.
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they → like → that
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
