Reagan-appointed,
84-year-old
U.S.
District
Judge
William
Young
has
had
just
about
enough
of
the
Trump
administration’s
First
Amendment
nonsense
and
let
that
displeasure
be
known
with
some
rhetorical
violence.
According
to
reporting
from
the
Washington
Post,
last
week
at
a
hearing,
Judge
Young
let
loose
at
the
administration’s
attorneys.
Because
nothing
says
liberal
firebrand
like
“Reagan-appointee,”
I
guess.
In
a
case
brought
by
five
academic
organizations
on
behalf
of
international
students
who
protested
in
support
of
Palestine
who
alleged
that
the
government
retaliated
against
them
by
targeting
their
immigration
status,
Judge
Young
didn’t
bother
with
euphemisms.
He
called
the
president
an
“authoritarian,”
accused
the
administration
of
engaging
in
an
“unconstitutional
conspiracy
to
pick
off
certain
people,”
and
said
the
government
has
excluded
“from
participation
everyone
who
doesn’t
agree
with
them.”
“Talking
straight
here,”
Young
said,
“the
big
problem
in
this
case
is
that
the
Cabinet
secretaries
and
ostensibly,
the
president
of
the
United
States,
are
not
honoring
the
First
Amendment.”
Then
he
turned
his
fire
directly
on
Secretary
of
Homeland
Security
Kristi
Noem
and
Secretary
of
State
Marco
Rubio:
“These
cabinet
secretaries
have
failed
in
their
sworn
duty
to
uphold
the
Constitution.”
Young
went
even
harder,
saying:
“I
find
it
breathtaking
that
I
have
been
compelled
on
the
evidence
to
find
the
conduct
of
such
high-level
officers
of
our
government
—
cabinet
secretaries
—
conspired
to
infringe
the
First
Amendment
rights
of
people
with
such
rights
here
in
the
United
States.”
That
is
not
the
language
of
mild
concern.
That
is
the
language
of
a
judge
who
thinks
the
executive
branch
is
playing
Calvinball
with
the
Constitution.
This
isn’t
the
first
time
Young
let
MAGA-ttorneys
have
it
in
this
case.
He’s
previously
likened
some
of
the
administration’s
moves
to
the
tactics
of
the
Ku
Klux
Klan,
which
gives
you
a
real
sense
of
just
how
much
Young
thinks
the
federal
government
has
gone
off
the
rails.
Despite
the
pretty
devastating
benchslap,
the
Department
of
Justice
took
an
aggressive
approach
with
Young.
At
the
hearing,
DOJ
attorney
Paul
Stone
tried
the
bold
strategy
of
arguing
that
“there
isn’t
any
remedy
that
the
court
can
offer.”
Judge
Young
responded
exactly
like
someone
who
has
been
doing
this
job
since
the
mid-80s,
“You’re
telling
me
there
is
no
remedy!?”
Now
the
only
real
question
left
is
whether
the
ruling
that
comes
later
this
week
matches
the
tone
of
the
hearing,
if
so,
that’ll
be
appointment
reading.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].