Stanford law ‘fairness’ dean accuses conservative judge who called her to speak of committing ‘harm’

A federal appeals judge appointed by Donald Trump demanded an apology from Stanford Law School after he was invited to speak, but was scolded by a godly dean as students woke up shouting abuse at him.

Judge Kyle Duncan, of the Fifth Appellate Circuit, was ambushed by Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terrien Steinbach during a debate Thursday night.

Steinbach—a former ACLU attorney who previously advocated free speech—at first claimed that Duncan had the right to express his views.

But then she launched into an impassioned six-minute speech – which she had written – denouncing his life’s work.

Duncan looked flustered as Steinbach took the stage and told the law students that “she had to write something because I’m so uncomfortable here.”

She continued, “For the many people in law school who work here, who teach here, who live here, your advocacy—your opinions from the bench—represents an absolute disenfranchisement.”

The awakened students tapped their fingers in support—progressive colleges having warned that applause can cause offense—and cried “yes” in agreement.

They feel hurt not only by your words – because if they were just words that would be one thing. You have the power and authority to make decisions that affect the lives of millions, Steinbach continued.

Her voice could be heard trembling at certain points, though it’s unclear if she was upset with Duncan, or just excited at the opportunity to perform.

She said she hoped Duncan could “listen through your partisan lens”.

Steinbach added, “It’s uncomfortable for me to say this to you as a person. It’s uncomfortable to say that for so many people here your work has caused harm…and I know it’s uncomfortable to hear that. It must be.”

“I am also uncomfortable that so many people here that I have come to take care of.”

Duncan stood and shook his head in astonishment. Steinbach also expressed support for freedom of speech.

But she made a clear face just seconds later, when she suggested that hate speech should be banned, and that her students could defend those laws after graduation.

Duncan, the 51-year-old Louisiana-born attorney known for defying LGBT rights, was appointed a federal judge in 2018 by then-President Trump.

Prior to that, he represented Christian Hobby Lobby in their case against the provision of contraceptives in their employees’ health insurance plans – a case that Duncan successfully defended before the Supreme Court.

LGBTQ+ advocacy group Lambda Legal said Duncan “has spent his entire career working to kill civil rights advances”.

Duncan was invited to the event on campus Thursday by the Stanford chapter of the conservative group The Federalist Society.

He’s been tasked with discussing laws around firearms, COVID mandates, weapons, and Twitter.

‘You invited me to speak here,’ said Duncan, ‘and I was harassed non-stop.

Then Steinbach took the stage and, in a trembling voice, said that Duncan’s remarks were “tearing at the very fabric of this community that I’m here to support.”

I asked him: Is the juice worth squeezing?

When Duncan tried to fight back, the students shouted, “Let it end!” They remained calm and polite while the awakened Dean embraced her beliefs, but offered Duncan no such courtesy.

“For a lot of people here, your work has done you harm,” Steinbach told Duncan.

In my role at this university, my job is to create a sense of belonging for all students.

And this is hard and messy and not easy, and the answers are not black or white, right or wrong. This is part of creating belonging.

“And it doesn’t feel comfortable and it doesn’t always feel safe, but there are always safe places and there’s always the intention to make sure you all feel like you’re in a place where you can feel completely.”

Steinbach said Duncan is “completely welcome” – much to his eyebrows.

She said she wanted “more talk, not less” — but seemed happy to let students harass someone whose views differed from hers.

She accused Duncan of encouraging “divisiveness”, which upset the students.

“I hope you can look through the scenery and the noise, at the people holding these signs,” she said, pointing to someone holding aloft a “Trans Lives Matter” sign.

Then she called any students who felt threatened to leave, telling them that ‘many who go before Judge Duncan have no choice. You have a choice.’

Dozens stood and gathered, while Duncan looked on in shock and misery.

On Friday, Duncan told Reuters he felt ambushed.

“From my point of view, this was a setup, she was working with the students on this,” he said.

Prior to the event, Steinbach sent an email parrots parroting the same wake points, prompting speculation that they had been circling the gigs prior to the ambush.

He said he was “displeased” and “disturbed” by the students’ and Steinbach’s “deeply uncivil behaviour”.

“It would be nice if they reached out to me and said, ‘Gee, we’re sorry,'” he said.

In a letter to students Friday, Stanford Dean of Law Jenny Martinez said preventing a speaker from applying through harassment or any other means violates school policies.

“Whatever the best intentions, attempts to run the room in this case failed,” she wrote.

“The manner in which this event was conducted did not align with our institutional commitment to freedom of expression.”

Duncan compared the protest to incidents at other law schools, including Yale and Georgetown, where student-led protests of conservative speakers have fueled debate about whether law schools live up to their ideals as bastions of open debate and free speech.

Some federal court justices have said they will no longer appoint clerks from Yale, due to concerns they could end up with a sober social justice warrior unable to represent someone whose opinions they consider offensive.

Stanford law students can find themselves left out, too. The school is one of the most prestigious and well-known colleges in the United States.

Last year, the book caused an uproar after a “harmful language guide” was published, which claimed that words like “American” and “courageous” were offensive — and that the phrase “give it a chance” glorified violent imagery.

‘I told [students] Duncan said of the conflict.

“Maybe that’s where we’re headed as a society, but that just doesn’t work in my courtroom.”

Law student Tessa Silverman, who attended the protest, told Reuters that Duncan himself appeared angry and called some of the students “idiots”.

Duncan confirmed it.

He said, “They are stupid.” “They are hypocrites and they are bullies.”