Notable & Quotable: Judge Ho at Georgetown on Ilya Shapiro ‘If Ilya Shapiro is deserving of cancellation, then you should go ahead and cancel me too.’
From prepared remarks delivered Feb. 15 by Judge Jim Ho of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Federalist Society’s Georgetown Law School chapter:
Months ago, I was scheduled to talk with you all today about a subject that I’m very passionate about. . . . But I hope you won’t mind that I’ve decided to address a different topic today instead. . . . I’m going to spend my time today talking about Ilya Shapiro, who was recently appointed to serve as executive director and senior lecturer at the Center for the Constitution here at Georgetown. As you all know, there is now a heated debate—first, over the content of a recent tweet that he made and then deleted, and second, over what, if anything, Georgetown should do in response to his tweet. . . .
Ilya has said that he should have chosen different words. That ought to be enough. . . . If you asked Ilya, I am sure he would say that he’s the one standing up for racial equality, and that his opponents are the ones who are supporting racial discrimination. You don’t have to agree with him—but it’s obvious that’s where he’s coming from. And yet I don’t hear Ilya trying to punish others for taking a different view on racial equality. . . .
About a year ago, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “The Importance of a Diverse Federal Judiciary.” I’m honored that the committee invited me, along with four other federal judges, to testify to express my own views on the topic, and I agreed to do so. Here’s what I said:
“Equality of opportunity is fundamental to who we are, and to who we aspire to be, as a nation. . . . But here’s the kicker: Once everyone has had full and fair opportunity to be considered, you pick on the merits. Both the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act make clear that it is wrong to hire people based on race.
“That’s the law for a wide range of jobs. But it would be especially wrong to select judges based on race.
“It is true that I am the only Asian American on my court. I’m also the only immigrant on my court.
“But I would never suggest that a wise Asian would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion than a white judge. That would be antithetical to our legal system, and poisonous to civil society. No one should ever assume that I’m more likely to favor Asians or immigrants or anyone else—or that my colleagues are less likely to. Everyone should win or lose based on the law—period. That’s why Lady Justice wears a blindfold. That’s why judges wear black robes. . . .”
I’ll admit that it’s unusual for a federal judge to testify before Congress. But I accepted the invitation to testify for one simple reason: These are the principles that help define why America truly is the greatest nation on earth. They are the principles that brought my own family to these shores, and that I have held all my life, even as I confronted racial discrimination as a student, as a member of the legal profession, and as an Asian American during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And these principles are worth defending—no matter how loud the booing from the crowd.
So let me be clear: I stand with Ilya on the paramount importance of color-blindness. And that same principle should apply whether we’re talking about getting into college, getting your first job, or receiving an appointment to the highest court in the land.
Racism is a scourge that America has not yet fully extinguished—and the first step in fighting racial discrimination is to stop practicing it.
That’s all Ilya is trying to say. That’s all he has ever tried to say.
And so, if Ilya Shapiro is deserving of cancellation, then you should go ahead and cancel me too.
Thank you for listening. I’m honored to be here.
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