Latest news with #Vaden
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump-appointed judge cleared of wrongdoing over Columbia law clerk boycott
April 9 (Reuters) - A federal judicial panel has dismissed a misconduct complaint against one of the 13 judges who last year signed a letter announcing they would boycott hiring law clerks from Columbia University in response to its handling of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations on its campus over Israel's war in Gaza. The 7th Circuit Judicial Council ruled in Judge Stephen Vaden's favor on Tuesday, the same day the U.S. Court of International Trade judge went before a U.S. Senate panel for a hearing on his nomination by Republican President Donald Trump to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture. The judicial council said that jurists like Vaden, who Trump appointed to the court in his first term, have "wide discretion" to establish their own screening and selection criteria for law clerks. That latitude means a judge may refuse to hire law clerks from law schools or universities that in their judgment fail to foster "civility in discourse, respect for freedom of speech, and viewpoint nondiscrimination," the council said. "Accordingly, the law-clerk hiring boycott is neither inconsistent with the integrity of the judicial office nor likely to diminish public confidence in the judiciary," the council held in a decision signed by Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Sykes. The ruling in favor of Vaden came after judicial misconduct complaints were dismissed against 11 of the other conservative judges who signed the May letter to Columbia. Those misconduct complaints were all reviewed by chief judges within the same region or courts as the judges at issue. But Chief U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts transferred the complaint against Vaden from the Court of International Trade to the 7th Circuit under a rule designed to avoid local conflicts. Vaden was represented by the Christian conservative legal organization First Liberty Institute and Lisa Blatt, a prominent U.S. Supreme Court advocate at Williams & Connolly. Vaden and Blatt did not respond to requests for comment. Vaden, along with 12 other judges who were all Trump appointees, in their letter, opens new tab called Columbia an "incubator of bigotry" and argued for "serious consequences" for anyone who participated in the campus demonstrations that roiled Columbia's campus in the spring. They said Columbia had "become ground zero for the explosion of student disruptions, antisemitism, and hatred for diverse viewpoints on campuses across the nation" and had "disqualified itself from educating the future leaders of our country." As a result, the judges said they would not hire anyone who attended Columbia as an undergraduate or law student, beginning with students who began their studies at the university in fall 2023. The letter's other signatories included U.S. Circuit Judges James Ho of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Elizabeth Branch of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who participated in similar boycotts of clerks from Yale and Stanford over disruptions of conservative speakers on their campuses. The misconduct complaint against Vaden was filed in June by an unnamed person who, according to Tuesday's ruling, has been convicted of arson, terrorism and other crimes stemming from his role in firebombing and vandalizing Jewish houses of worship. The complainant alleged that Vaden violated judicial ethics rules by engaging in partisan political activity and extrajudicial conduct that was likely to cause a lowering of public confidence in the courts. He said Vaden had disqualified himself from any cases involving members of the Columbia community and should be removed from office. US judge boycotting Columbia law clerks won't recuse from protest case US judges cleared of misconduct over Columbia clerk hiring boycott US judiciary to consider new ethical guidance for law clerk hiring Group urges US judiciary to halt conservative judges' clerk boycotts US law clerks in rare anonymous statement decry 'genocide' in Gaza
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo's Grand Champion Steer auctioned for $375K
The Brief The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo's Youth Auction was Saturday. Grand Champion Steer Alley Cat was auctioned for $375K. More than $10 million was spent at the Youth Auction this year. FORT WORTH, Texas - The Grand Champion Steer at this year's Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo was auctioned off for $375,000 on Saturday. The 2025 grand champion steer is a silver American Cross named Alley Cat. Vaden's Acoustics & Drywall, Inc. placed the winning $375,000 bid in the auction at Watt arena. Alley Cat's owner is 16-year-old Mattison Koepp, of La Vernia, Texas, near San Antonio. The Reserve Grand Champion Steer, shown by Bricelyn Patschke of Idalou, Texas, was auctioned off for $300,000. By the numbers More than $10 million was raised in the Stock Show's Youth Auction. That is approximately $1.8 million more than last year. What they're saying "Our amazing buyers at the Junior Sale of Champions make a tremendous investment in these incredible youth that participate in our show," said Stock Show General Manager Matt Carter. "A huge thank you to the Fort Worth community that supports these young men and women who will make sure tomorrow's livestock industry and food security is in good hands." The Source Information in this article comes from the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and past FOX 4 coverage.
