Best and worst judges to clerk for Forum

[Anonymous User]

It's objectively hilarious, and correct on the merits, but not appropriate. He should have saved it for a law review piece.

That being said, the ATL level wishcasting that VanDyke blasting off against his fellow judges will have some sort of negative repercussion for his clerks is pretty silly. He's also getting plenty of apps (as far I know know, he prefers to hire locals with ties to either Montana or Nevada), his brother has a SCOTUS clerkship, and he's continually getting invited to the most notable panels. He's doing fine.

He also has a few co-clerks with Mizelle, which would further cut against the unsubstantiated notion he's somehow anathema to FedSoc clerks.

I don't know if anyone is saying he's anathema to FedSoc clerks - I'm sure if it's Van Dyke or no COA clerkship at all, anybody in FedSoc would have no questions about taking the job. I think it's more that he's probably not at the top of many FedSoc candidate's lists (though for some who share his temperament, he still could be) as compared to other similarly conservative judges.

[Anonymous User]

It's objectively hilarious, and correct on the merits, but not appropriate. He should have saved it for a law review piece.

That being said, the ATL level wishcasting that VanDyke blasting off against his fellow judges will have some sort of negative repercussion for his clerks is pretty silly. He's also getting plenty of apps (as far I know know, he prefers to hire locals with ties to either Montana or Nevada), his brother has a SCOTUS clerkship, and he's continually getting invited to the most notable panels. He's doing fine.

He also has a few co-clerks with Mizelle, which would further cut against the unsubstantiated notion he's somehow anathema to FedSoc clerks.

I see he's joining forces w/another NQ-rated appointee lmao

LOL.
Don’t wanna get too far down the Kat Mizelle qualifications rabbit hole once again, but any knowledge on how she’s doing down in Tampa / what kind of Judge she is.

[lavarman84]

That VanDyke video actually sounds a tad funny. I thought it would be much worse with how people spoke of it.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah honestly as someone who finds this drama/pettiness among federal judges so amusing, I'm straight-up disappointed there wasn't anything more to the Van Dyke video.

Also, it seems unfair to Mizelle to group her with Van Dyke - I don't agree with her politically at all, but I could see how in like 5 years she would've been a run-of-the-mill Republican district court judge. Didn't the whole ABA report say that she was temperamentally fine and just lacked enough experience? I'm honestly surprised that there was so much drama about it given that it's about a district court vacancy in a state with 2 R senators - and even if she gets elevated to the 11th Circuit, that court is so conservative already it's not like it would make much of a difference. Now that it's been about a year, I'm also curious if anyone has appeared before her and if her lack of experience has made litigating in her courtroom difficult?

[Anonymous User]

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the video, and while the things described are accurate, I think the post wildly downplays how obviously inappropriately it came off. The conceit was essentially that VanDyke was treating the job as a joke and making arbitrary decisions while drunk and weightlifting. And that’s putting the quasi-sexist dynamics to the side. I don’t think any other judge in the country would think that was a joking matter, regardless of the forum.

[Anonymous User]

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the video, and while the things described are accurate, I think the post wildly downplays how obviously inappropriately it came off. The conceit was essentially that VanDyke was treating the job as a joke and making arbitrary decisions while drunk and weightlifting. And that’s putting the quasi-sexist dynamics to the side. I don’t think any other judge in the country would think that was a joking matter, regardless of the forum.

Oh the humanity. Will someone get Ja Rule on the phone and help me make sense of this tragedy?

[Anonymous User]

It's objectively hilarious, and correct on the merits, but not appropriate. He should have saved it for a law review piece.

That being said, the ATL level wishcasting that VanDyke blasting off against his fellow judges will have some sort of negative repercussion for his clerks is pretty silly. He's also getting plenty of apps (as far I know know, he prefers to hire locals with ties to either Montana or Nevada), his brother has a SCOTUS clerkship, and he's continually getting invited to the most notable panels. He's doing fine.

He also has a few co-clerks with Mizelle, which would further cut against the unsubstantiated notion he's somehow anathema to FedSoc clerks.

I see he's joining forces w/another NQ-rated appointee lmao

LOL.
Don’t wanna get too far down the Kat Mizelle qualifications rabbit hole once again, but any knowledge on how she’s doing down in Tampa / what kind of Judge she is.

I know Mizelle has hired double clerks with other Fed Soc COA judges as well. Though the most selective Fed Soc judges who do a lot of doubles seem to mostly send them to the Fed Soc judges on SDNY, EDNY, DDC, and NDIL.

[GoneSouth]

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the video, and while the things described are accurate, I think the post wildly downplays how obviously inappropriately it came off. The conceit was essentially that VanDyke was treating the job as a joke and making arbitrary decisions while drunk and weightlifting. And that’s putting the quasi-sexist dynamics to the side. I don’t think any other judge in the country would think that was a joking matter, regardless of the forum.

Oh the humanity. Will someone get Ja Rule on the phone and help me make sense of this tragedy?

Brave anon

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard anything about Judge Frimpong in CD Cal? I thought I saw she was hiring for clerkships.

[Anonymous User]

any info on which judges on the district of new jersey to target (and which to avoid)?

[Anonymous User]

any info on which judges on the district of new jersey to target (and which to avoid)?

My info dates from mid-Obama, but on the "avoid" side, I never heard anything outside of normal workplace complaints, although there were a few JAs/court staff who gave clerks a hard time. McNulty always won rave reviews; he seemed like a wonderful person to work for.

[Anonymous User]

any info on which judges on the district of new jersey to target (and which to avoid)?

Wigenton had a bad rep around the USAO for being disorganized, but unsure how that translates to her as a boss. Otherwise, never heard anything bad or anyone to avoid (except maybe avoid Trenton just because it’s a bleak place to work). Only one I can speak to personally (former CA3 clerk in a Newark courthouse): Salas is really wonderful.

[Anonymous User]

any info on which judges on the district of new jersey to target (and which to avoid)?

Wigenton had a bad rep around the USAO for being disorganized, but unsure how that translates to her as a boss. Otherwise, never heard anything bad or anyone to avoid (except maybe avoid Trenton just because it’s a bleak place to work). Only one I can speak to personally (former CA3 clerk in a Newark courthouse): Salas is really wonderful.

Wigenton's clerks seemed to be having a good time, but they were all extremely gregarious and friendly people anyway. If they had any issues with chambers organization, they did not mention it.

Trenton does have a reputation of being the least desirable of all three courthouses. However, Wolfson and Shipp both seem like wonderful bosses.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard anything about Judge Frimpong in CD Cal? I thought I saw she was hiring for clerkships.

She is done hiring her inaugural clerks, but might be hiring for their replacements.

[Anonymous User]

any info on which judges on the district of new jersey to target (and which to avoid)?

Wigenton had a bad rep around the USAO for being disorganized, but unsure how that translates to her as a boss. Otherwise, never heard anything bad or anyone to avoid (except maybe avoid Trenton just because it’s a bleak place to work). Only one I can speak to personally (former CA3 clerk in a Newark courthouse): Salas is really wonderful.

Wigenton's clerks seemed to be having a good time, but they were all extremely gregarious and friendly people anyway. If they had any issues with chambers organization, they did not mention it.

Trenton does have a reputation of being the least desirable of all three courthouses. However, Wolfson and Shipp both seem like wonderful bosses.

Any insight into the judges in Camden?

[Anonymous User]

Any insight into Judge Jose Martinez, SD Florida?

[Anonymous User]

I've heard Wallach in the Federal Circuit is traumatic...

[Anonymous User]

Any insight into Judge Jose Martinez, SD Florida?

His clerks seem to like him quite bit. And they seem relatively relaxed. From my (very limited) perspective clerking for a different judge in the same building, he comes across as kind and sorta grandfatherly. I once heard one of former clerks describe him as Grandpa Judge.

[Anonymous User]

This isn’t really surprising, but basically nobody in the conservative legal world on Volokh etc. is willing to defend the Mizelle ruling on OSHA, which is pretty telling. The basic mistakes on the corpus linguistics analysis are frankly embarrassing, for example (“don’t just look at frequency” is like Tom Lee’s First Commandment), as are the errors Sam Bray pointed out in the remedy section, even aside from the statutory interpretation that’s getting most of the heat.

[Anonymous User]

Didn't Randy B post a defense somewhere?

[Anonymous User]

This isn’t really surprising, but basically nobody in the conservative legal world on Volokh etc. is willing to defend the Mizelle ruling on OSHA, which is pretty telling. The basic mistakes on the corpus linguistics analysis are frankly embarrassing, for example (“don’t just look at frequency” is like Tom Lee’s First Commandment), as are the errors Sam Bray pointed out in the remedy section, even aside from the statutory interpretation that’s getting most of the heat.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but the endless (Judge, J.) cites to minor Fed Soc luminaries also strongly made it seem like the work of an overeager clerk, not a federal judge. The sort of cringey faux pas that some maturity from practice might have cured.

[Anonymous User]

I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but the endless (Judge, J.) cites to minor Fed Soc luminaries also strongly made it seem like the work of an overeager clerk, not a federal judge. The sort of cringey faux pas that some maturity from practice might have cured.

Speaking of which: I was surprised to see some Twitter commentary on the clerk who likely authored the opinion, based on the initials accompanying the ECF entry. While this is a new sleuthing method (to me, anyway), it's long been possible to connect opinions with their likely author through PDF metadata. This never gets discussed, and I assumed it was because of some desire to avoid peeking behind the curtain. Apparently that instinct no longer holds.

(For the clerks out there: clear PDF metadata before posting opinions and orders. Or at the very least, ensure that metadata never makes it to your PDFs in the first place by setting up Adobe properly etc. Last thing you want is some Twitter rando learning your name.)

[Anonymous User]

This isn’t really surprising, but basically nobody in the conservative legal world on Volokh etc. is willing to defend the Mizelle ruling on OSHA, which is pretty telling. The basic mistakes on the corpus linguistics analysis are frankly embarrassing, for example (“don’t just look at frequency” is like Tom Lee’s First Commandment), as are the errors Sam Bray pointed out in the remedy section, even aside from the statutory interpretation that’s getting most of the heat.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but the endless (Judge, J.) cites to minor Fed Soc luminaries also strongly made it seem like the work of an overeager clerk, not a federal judge. The sort of cringey faux pas that some maturity from practice might have cured.

Of all the things to criticize in an opinion potentially filled with errors, this is the stupidest. She cites judges in all her opinions:

https://twitter.com/johnkerkhoff/status ... tbhqBngaQQ

[Anonymous User]

I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but the endless (Judge, J.) cites to minor Fed Soc luminaries also strongly made it seem like the work of an overeager clerk, not a federal judge. The sort of cringey faux pas that some maturity from practice might have cured.

Speaking of which: I was surprised to see some Twitter commentary on the clerk who likely authored the opinion, based on the initials accompanying the ECF entry. While this is a new sleuthing method (to me, anyway), it's long been possible to connect opinions with their likely author through PDF metadata. This never gets discussed, and I assumed it was because of some desire to avoid peeking behind the curtain. Apparently that instinct no longer holds.

(For the clerks out there: clear PDF metadata before posting opinions and orders. Or at the very least, ensure that metadata never makes it to your PDFs in the first place by setting up Adobe properly etc. Last thing you want is some Twitter rando learning your name.)

Uploading a pdf is not metadata, it’s a clerical task which someone more competent and less hackish than a DemandJustice writer thats never worked for a judge would have known immediately.
Given that he has a habit of “outing” clerks he doesn’t like, my assumption is that the clerk is the only person he could readily find information about on the internet and backfilled a justification to try and harass him.

Admittedly, the only interesting information he posted was that the guy graduated top of his class, which he’ll presumably ignore next time he goes on a rant about how FedSoc students can walk into a SCOTUS clerkship. Also cuts against the many posters here on this very thread that continuously claim that judges they don’t like struggle to find clerks, which has never been true.

[Anonymous User]

I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but the endless (Judge, J.) cites to minor Fed Soc luminaries also strongly made it seem like the work of an overeager clerk, not a federal judge. The sort of cringey faux pas that some maturity from practice might have cured.

Speaking of which: I was surprised to see some Twitter commentary on the clerk who likely authored the opinion, based on the initials accompanying the ECF entry. While this is a new sleuthing method (to me, anyway), it's long been possible to connect opinions with their likely author through PDF metadata. This never gets discussed, and I assumed it was because of some desire to avoid peeking behind the curtain. Apparently that instinct no longer holds.

(For the clerks out there: clear PDF metadata before posting opinions and orders. Or at the very least, ensure that metadata never makes it to your PDFs in the first place by setting up Adobe properly etc. Last thing you want is some Twitter rando learning your name.)

Discussing the clerk’s politics seems like a bunch of nothing anyway. It’s not like Mizelle’s politics were mysterious or hidden, she was elevated almost entirely for her politics (not saying she’s not smart with all the right bona fides except for any trial experience whatsoever), and it’s not at all surprising that a conservative judge would hire a conservative clerk. Plus I think the idea of federal judges being somehow improperly swayed by their clerks’ political beliefs is just silly. If Mizelle didn’t agree with the order she wouldn’t have issued it (even leaving aside that we have no idea how the work on that order was divvied up behind the scenes). I have a hard time seeing any judge let an order on such an obviously political/contentious topic go out without being very confident in what it says, even if they give their clerks more free rein over some matters.