As Marcel Proust has written, “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy.” Today I’m grateful to a judge who has done much more than make me happy. He has boldly stood in the way of the creeping authoritarianism in this country. Because he has bravely noted the appalling defiance of our Constitution by the current White House, Judge William Young is a judicial hero who deserves our gratitude and our praise.
When I entered law school decades ago, the legal profession was highly admired, and I was excited to become part of it. With a few exceptions, lawyers stood for truth and justice. Our federal judges, especially US Supreme Court justices like Earl Warren, were revered. They were prominent symbols of integrity and fairness.
Unfortunately, I no longer view most lawyers and judges with absolute esteem. Too many lawyers are focused on the almighty dollar, willing to “bend the knee” for their personal financial gain. Too many judges, including those who sit on the Supreme Court, are no longer viewed as fair-minded people dispensing equal justice.
But this year a judicial hero has emerged from the ranks of the hundreds of US federal district judges. His decisions have stood out, highlighting the important role of the Constitution, a role too often ignored by the White House.
Bill Young, appointed to the bench in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan, has a long career that includes a number of high-profile cases. But, as The New York Times noted on June 18, Young “recently experienced what he viewed as a career first, and it didn’t sit well with him.” He was dealing with two cases contesting cuts to research grants and programs administered by the National Institutes of Health. The grants had been cancelled by the White House “to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and roll back transgender rights.”
Bill Young decided to block these cuts. He saw it as his duty to follow the Constitution, stating “I am hesitant to draw this conclusion, but I have an unflinching obligation to draw it: that this represents racial discrimination.” During a hearing in May, he noted: “I have real concerns about even handedness here: …we’re talking about health care; I have concerns about Black Americans; I have concerns about women; I have concerns about legitimate gender issues having to do with health.”
In September, Bill Young presided over another lawsuit, where the most important issue was freedom of speech under the First Amendment. The plaintiffs were student activists protesting their deportation, asserting that Rubio and Noem had misused their authority, targeting them for deportation even though the First Amendment protected political speech. Young agreed with the activists that this government conduct had the goal of terrorizing anyone into silence, including non-citizens, simply because the White House didn’t like their views, thus chilling what is protected speech and thereby violating the First Amendment.
| Marc Elias is another one of my heroes. Marc is a lawyer who has spent much of his career as a proponent of truth and justice and our currently fragile democracy. Marc’s efforts include publishing Democracy Docket. He has described his publication this way: “I founded Democracy Docket in 2020, for moments exactly like this. Before we had a single subscriber, I envisioned a pro-democracy news outlet that would be the most authoritative voice on the most important cases facing democracy. I wanted it to cover the cases and the angles that legacy media so often overlook or apply a lens of both-sides journalism. What I’m most proud of is the hard work that Democracy Docket has been doing when few others were paying attention. … It’s this deep, committed coverage that sets Democracy Docket apart.” Marc’s publication noted Bill Young’s ruling on September 30, describing it as blasting “Trump’s full-throated assault on the First Amendment.” |
As Marc wrote, “It can feel like we’re drowning under the incessant torrent of outrages launched by this administration, but every now and then, some true patriot throws us a lifeline.
“This week, it was U.S. District Judge Bill Young, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, who published an extraordinary 161-page cri de coeur, ruling that the administration violated the First Amendment by targeting pro-Palestinian college students for deportation.”
Marc noted that Bill Young framed his decision “as a response to the anonymous sender of an ominous postcard to his chambers, which read, ‘Trump has pardons and tanks, what do you have?’“ Young’s response: “Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty. Together, We the People of the United States — you and me — have our magnificent Constitution.”
Marc Elias added that Young’s ruling included a highly unusual 12-page assessment of the president that detailed how Trump routinely ignores the Constitution, laws, and regulations while governing but aggressively deploys the legal system against those who stand in his way.
As The New York Times noted, Bill Young’s “frankness on the bench may not be unique among federal jurists, but it has been pronounced in recent months when Justice Department lawyers have at times struggled to rationalize policies the administration has relied on.”
In my view, we’re lucky that Bill Young has “joined the ranks of other federal judges, including several Trump appointees, who have dealt a legal blow” to the current agenda. His rulings will, of course, be appealed, and we have to hold our breath until the Supreme Court speaks.
In the meantime, let us be grateful to judges like Bill Young who restore our faith in our judicial system, especially those judges who will unwaveringly follow the Constitution and protect the rights enshrined in that document.
susanjustwrites
Susan Just Writes 