Most Flexible Judges Forum

[ranger51]

Starting to compile a list of judges to target for clerkships. Does anyone have thoughts on who the most grade flexible circuit judges are? Maybe the ones willing to dip on grades a bit in favor of ideology?

Thinking VanDyke, Ho, etc. but I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thank you so much!

[Anonymous User]

Starting to compile a list of judges to target for clerkships. Does anyone have thoughts on who the most grade flexible circuit judges are? Maybe the ones willing to dip on grades a bit in favor of ideology?

Thinking VanDyke, Ho, etc. but I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thank you so much!

VanDyke and Ho certainly are not among the most "grade flexible." Both are extremely connected in the elite FedSoc circles and are desirable destinations for ultra-conservative applicants. The most grade flexible judges are lesser-known judges in undesirable cities / circuits, including senior judges. If you happen to be FedSoc and find a conservative judge meeting that description, all the better.

[Anonymous User]

Starting to compile a list of judges to target for clerkships. Does anyone have thoughts on who the most grade flexible circuit judges are? Maybe the ones willing to dip on grades a bit in favor of ideology?

Thinking VanDyke, Ho, etc. but I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thank you so much!

VanDyke and Ho certainly are not among the most "grade flexible." Both are extremely connected in the elite FedSoc circles and are desirable destinations for ultra-conservative applicants. The most grade flexible judges are lesser-known judges in undesirable cities / circuits, including senior judges. If you happen to be FedSoc and find a conservative judge meeting that description, all the better.

Agree with the above, with the caveat that many lesser-known judges in "undesirable" cities or circuits prefer candidates with ties to that region. To that end, they might be flexible on grades if you go to a T14 and have local ties, but not necessarily flexible based on ideology. I have heard that senior judges are generally less competitive (with some exceptions), so I would check any Reagan/HW judges whose confirmations were controversial.

Off the top of my head, Senior Judge Manion on CA7 was pretty controversial and his opinions are mostly very right-wing, so maybe he's worth looking into. He went senior like ages ago and is getting up there now in terms of age, so I'm not sure how many clerks he's hiring these days (if any).

[Anonymous User]

Starting to compile a list of judges to target for clerkships. Does anyone have thoughts on who the most grade flexible circuit judges are? Maybe the ones willing to dip on grades a bit in favor of ideology?

Thinking VanDyke, Ho, etc. but I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thank you so much!

VanDyke and Ho certainly are not among the most "grade flexible." Both are extremely connected in the elite FedSoc circles and are desirable destinations for ultra-conservative applicants. The most grade flexible judges are lesser-known judges in undesirable cities / circuits, including senior judges. If you happen to be FedSoc and find a conservative judge meeting that description, all the better.

Speaking as someone who has defended VanDyke and Ho a lot on this forum, I don’t think either of them are particularly grade sensitive.

The grade sensitive FedSoc judges are going to be the feeders and ambitious ones - see Richardson, Oldham, Thapar, Rao, Grant, Katsas, Park, Menashi, etc. I am likely missing quite a few as well.

The ones likely willing to compromise on grades are going to want to see significant commitment and oftentimes, local ties. I’d suggest applying broadly if that is your primary objective.

[Anonymous User]

Honestly, the biggest way to overcome grade issues is with strong recommenders. My COA judge was pretty grade sensitive, but if someone he really respected called or emailed about you, that would get your foot in the door.

[Anonymous User]

Starting to compile a list of judges to target for clerkships. Does anyone have thoughts on who the most grade flexible circuit judges are? Maybe the ones willing to dip on grades a bit in favor of ideology?

Thinking VanDyke, Ho, etc. but I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thank you so much!

VanDyke and Ho certainly are not among the most "grade flexible." Both are extremely connected in the elite FedSoc circles and are desirable destinations for ultra-conservative applicants. The most grade flexible judges are lesser-known judges in undesirable cities / circuits, including senior judges. If you happen to be FedSoc and find a conservative judge meeting that description, all the better.

Speaking as someone who has defended VanDyke and Ho a lot on this forum, I don’t think either of them are particularly grade sensitive.

The grade sensitive FedSoc judges are going to be the feeders and ambitious ones - see Richardson, Oldham, Thapar, Rao, Grant, Katsas, Park, Menashi, etc. I am likely missing quite a few as well.

The ones likely willing to compromise on grades are going to want to see significant commitment and oftentimes, local ties. I’d suggest applying broadly if that is your primary objective.

Allow me to clarify - VanDyke and Ho are not among the most grade-sensitive judges, and they of course do not compete with conservative feeders. They are, however, nationally well-known judges who get many applications each cycle. The same can't be said of, for example, a senior judge on the 8th Circuit.

[Anonymous User]

Everyone's reccomending more obscure seniors, which is right, but just to mix it up, Bush, Brennan, Grasz, Kobes, and Nelson come to mind of younger active judges--they probably prefer ties and high grades, obviously, but I know they've hired people without either, and they're definitely not as picky as Ho. They're the sorts of judges that Fed Soc students without high grades at my school often ended up with, and all but maybe Kobes seem to hire quite ideologically.