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James C. Ho

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James Ho
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byCarolyn Dineen King
4th Solicitor General of Texas
In office
May 12, 2008 – December 9, 2010
Attorney GeneralGreg Abbott
Preceded byTed Cruz
Succeeded byJonathan F. Mitchell
Personal details
Born (1973-02-27) February 27, 1973 (age 51)
Taipei, Taiwan
Spouse
Allyson Newton
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2
EducationStanford University (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Chinese name
Chinese何俊宇
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHé Jùnyǔ
Wade–GilesHo2 Chün4-yü3
IPA[xɤ̌ tɕŷn.ỳ]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôHô Tsùn-ú

James Chiun-Yue Ho (born February 27, 1973) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2018 as a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed by President Donald Trump, becoming the Fifth Circuit's only Asian-American judge and the only judge to be an immigrant.[1]

Born to Taiwanese American immigrants, Ho immigrated from Taiwan as a child and graduated from Stanford University and the University of Chicago Law School. He served as the Solicitor General of Texas from 2008 to 2010, becoming the first Asian-American to hold the position.[2] He has been identified as a potential Supreme Court nominee for Donald Trump's second term.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Ho was born on February 27, 1973, in Taipei, Taiwan, to So-Hwa and Steve Song-Shan Ho.[7] His father was a physician who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology.[8] Ho's Taiwanese American family immigrated to the United States when he was a child, moving first to Long Island before settling in San Marino, California.[8] He became a naturalized U.S. citizen at age nine.[9]

Ho was educated at the Polytechnic School, a rigorous private school in Pasadena, where he became the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Paw Print.[10] He was a high school classmate of Leondra Kruger, who later became a judge of the Supreme Court of California.[11] Ho volunteered as an actor and dancer for school plays and briefly served as a football lineman. A classmate described Ho as "super-intense; he walked fast, laid out pages fast, and drove too fast, in a Ford Probe".[8]

After high school, Ho studied public policy at Stanford University, where he wrote for The Stanford Daily and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts with honors.[8] From 1995 to 1996, Ho was a California Senate Fellow at California State University, Sacramento, and worked as a legislative aide to California state legislator Quentin L. Kopp.[12] He then attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review, joined the Federalist Society, and also served as an editor for The Green Bag.[8] In 1998, Ho also served as the executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.[12] He earned his Juris Doctor degree with high honors and membership in the Order of the Coif from the University of Chicago in 1999.[13] Upon graduation, the law school awarded him its Ann Watson Barber Outstanding Service Award,[12] given for "exceptional contributions to the quality of life at the Law School".[14]

Career

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After graduating from law school, Ho was a law clerk to Fifth Circuit judge Jerry Edwin Smith from 1999 to 2000. He then was in private practice in Washington, D.C., at the law firm Gibson Dunn from 2000 to 2001.[7] He assisted Gibson Dunn partner Theodore Olson with his representation of George W. Bush in the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore.[8] From 2001 to 2003, Ho was an attorney at the United States Department of Justice, first in the Civil Rights Division in 2001 and then in the Office of Legal Counsel from 2001–2003.[7] He was chief counsel to subcommittees of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2003 to 2005 under Republican Senator John Cornyn.[15][7] From 2005 to 2006, Ho was a law clerk to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.[7]

After his Supreme Court clerkship, Ho returned to private practice at Gibson Dunn in its Dallas office from 2006 to 2008 and 2010 to 2017.[7] From 2008 to 2010, he was the Solicitor General of Texas in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas,[7] replacing Ted Cruz in that position.[15] As Texas solicitor general, Ho led the state's lawsuits against the Obama administration.[15]

Ho has worked as a volunteer attorney with the First Liberty Institute, a religious legal advocacy organization.[16][17] He has held multiple positions as a member of the Federalist Society since 1996.[12]

Federal judicial service

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On September 28, 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Ho as a United States circuit judge to an undetermined seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[18] Cruz had promoted Ho as a candidate for a vacancy on the court.[18] On October 16, 2017, Trump sent Ho's nomination to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Carolyn Dineen King, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2013.[19] On November 15, 2017, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[20] On December 7, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote.[21] On December 13, 2017, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 53–44 vote.[22] On December 14, 2017, Ho's nomination was confirmed by a 53–43 vote.[23] He received his judicial commission on January 4, 2018.[7] He was sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas at the private library of Texan real estate billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow.[24]

On September 9, 2020, Trump included Ho on a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court.[25] Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed. Ho has again been identified as a potential Supreme Court nominee should Donald Trump be reelected in 2024.[3] Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) stated in June 2024 that he believes Ho "has done a terrific job on the 5th [Circuit]" and that Ho is "principled" and "will be immune to the Greenhouse effect.”[26] Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has also expressed support for Ho's elevation to the Supreme Court.[27] Ho was named to the shortlist of presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.[28]

On September 29, 2022, Ho delivered a speech at a Federalist Society conference in Kentucky and said he would no longer hire law clerks from Yale Law School, which he said was plagued by "cancel culture" and students disrupting conservative speakers. Ho said Yale "not only tolerates the cancellation of views — it actively practices it.", and he urged other judges to likewise boycott the school.[29][30] U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth L. Branch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit confirmed her participation in the Yale boycott in a statement to National Review. Branch told the National Review that Ho raised "legitimate concerns about the lack of free speech on law school campuses, Yale in particular," and that she would not consider students from Yale for clerkships in the future.[31]

On May 6, 2024, Ho cosigned a letter alongside twelve federal judges, which he shared with CNN, vowing not to hire Columbia University law students or undergraduates for concerns that the university is not doing enough to counter students protesting the war in Gaza.[32] Ho asked in the letter that the university should identify "students who engage in such conduct so that future employers can avoid hiring them. If not, employers are forced to assume the risk that anyone they hire from Columbia may be one of these disruptive and hateful students."[33]

Ho has been outspoken against illegal immigration, suggesting “a sovereign isn’t a sovereign if it can't control its borders” and that “[o]ur national objectives are undercut when states encourage illegal entry into the United States.”[34][35] He has stated that “[i]f only ‘the political branches of the federal government’ can decide if a state has been invaded, it effectively prohibits states from exercising their sovereign right of self-defense without federal permission.”[36] Ho has also defended the use of the term “alien,” arguing it should not be seen as offensive, noting that “[i]t’s a centuries-old legal term found in countless judicial decisions.”[37]

Notable opinions

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On April 18, 2018, in his first written opinion as a Fifth Circuit judge, Ho dissented from a denial of a rehearing en banc in a case regarding a limit on campaign contributions. The Fifth Circuit three-judge panel upheld the constitutionality of a City of Austin ordinance setting an individual campaign contribution limit of $350 per election for candidates for mayor and city council, rejecting the plaintiff's claim that the limit violated the First Amendment. In his dissent, Ho argued the court "should have granted rehearing en banc and held that the Austin contribution limit violates the First Amendment" and asserted that "if there is too much money in politics, it's because there's too much government."[38][39][40]

In 2020, Ho was a member of a panel that stayed a preliminary injunction entered by U.S. District Judge Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. that expanded the right to use a mail-in ballot to all Texas voters during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (allowing broader use of mail-in voting than under the Texas Election Code, which entitled only Texas voters over age 65 to vote absentee without an excuse). Ho wrote a separate concurring opinion favoring the state officials.[41][42][43][44][45]

On September 9, 2021, Ho authored the majority opinion for an en banc panel in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, interpreting a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Ho was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan.[46]

Personal life

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Ho is married to Allyson Paix Newton Ho (née Newton, formerly Heidelbaugh), a partner in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and co-chair of the firm's appellate practice group. Ho met Allyson Newton when he was a law clerk for Judge Jerry Edwin Smith in Houston, Texas, and Newton had been a law student working for a Houston firm.[8] They married on April 17, 2004.[47] Newton earned a Ph.D. in English from Rice University and served as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She has argued four cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.[15] They have twin children, a daughter and son.[48]

Selected publications

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kass, John (March 31, 2021). "Column: Asian American judge challenges racism inherent in 'equity'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  2. ^ Severino, Carrie Campbell (September 28, 2017). "Who is James Ho?". National Review. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Shannon Bream, Bill Mears (June 10, 2024). "Potential candidates for Supreme Court under a second Donald Trump term". Fox News. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Jauregui, Phillip (May 8, 2024). "A shortlist of Supreme Court picks Donald Trump should consider". Washington Examiner.
  5. ^ McCormack, John (June 25, 2024). "Will Donald Trump Release a 2024 SCOTUS Short List?". The Dispatch. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Willis, Jay (July 9, 2024). "Opinion | Trump's Next Supreme Court Picks Would Break the Mold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h James C. Ho at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Hall, Michael (August 15, 2024). "Is James Ho Too Brash for Even Trump to Make Him a Supreme Court Justice?". Texas Monthly. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Platoff, Emma (October 11, 2017). "Texas nominee for federal court at odds with Trump on birthright citizenship". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Mathews, Joe (October 27, 2020). "Two Would-Be Supreme Court Justices and Me". Zócalo Public Square. Arizona State University. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  11. ^ Wilson, Scott (February 18, 2022). "On the California Supreme Court, Leondra Kruger is known for her 'persuasive powers' among the justices". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d Ho, James (2017). "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  13. ^ Council, John (December 14, 2017). "Senate Confirms Former Texas Solicitor General James Ho to Fifth Circuit". Texas Lawyer. New York City. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "Graduating Student Awards". University of Chicago Law School. May 28, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Johnson, Carrie (July 26, 2018). "Legal Opinions Or Political Commentary? A New Judge Exemplifies The Trump Era". NPR. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  16. ^ "First Liberty Institute Congratulates Its Former Volunteer Attorney James C. Ho on His Judicial Confirmation" (Press release). December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  17. ^ Marcus, Ilana; Eaton, Joshua; Timms, Ed (March 20, 2020). "Federal judges: From political players to lifetime appointments". Roll Call. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Patrick Svitek & Emma Platoff, Trump taps two Texans — Willett and Ho — for judicial posts, Texas Tribune (September 28, 2017).
  19. ^ PN1108 — James C. Ho — The Judiciary, 115th Congress (2017-2018), Congress.gov.
  20. ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. November 15, 2017.
  21. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 7, 2017" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee.
  22. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: James C. Ho to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit)". United States Senate. December 13, 2017.
  23. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation James C. Ho, of Texas, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit)". United States Senate. December 14, 2017.
  24. ^ "Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire". ProPublica. April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
  26. ^ McCormack, John (June 25, 2024). "Will Donald Trump Release a 2024 SCOTUS Short List?". The Dispatch. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  27. ^ Svitek, Patrick (September 14, 2020). "Ted Cruz says he doesn't want to join the Supreme Court after being shortlisted by Trump". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  28. ^ "GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy lists Senators Cruz, Lee as possible Supreme Court picks". AP News. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  29. ^ Raymond, Nate (September 30, 2022). "Trump-appointed judge boycotts Yale for law clerks over 'cancel culture'". Reuters.
  30. ^ Alder, Madison (September 30, 2022). "US Judge Won't Hire Yale Law Clerks Citing 'Cancel Culture' (1)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  31. ^ Raymond, Nate (October 7, 2022). "2nd Trump-appointed judge publicly says she will not hire Yale clerks". Reuters.
  32. ^ Pazmino, Gloria (May 7, 2024). "Trump-appointed judges say they'll boycott Columbia grads over university's handling of protests | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  33. ^ "Trump-appointed judges say they'll boycott Columbia grads over university's handling of protests". CNN. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  34. ^ Platero-Rosales v. Garland (5th Cir. 2022), https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-60707-CV0.pdf
  35. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (February 12, 2024). "Fifth Circuit Chides Judge for Quick Trial in Texas Border Case". Bloomberg Law.
  36. ^ "United States v. Abbott, 92 F.4th 570 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  37. ^ Umanah, Ufonobong (May 31, 2023). "Conservative Judge Offers Defense of 'Alien' in Immigration Case". Bloomberg Law.
  38. ^ Zimmerman v. City of Austin, 881 F.3d 378 (5th Cir. 2018).
  39. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (April 24, 2018). "Trump Judge Judges Trumpily". slate.com. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  40. ^ Smith, Bradley (May 2, 2018). "Trump-appointed judge delivers fantastic campaign finance opinion in first ruling". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  41. ^ "IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCT No. 20-50407: Texas Democratic Party, et al. v. Greg Abbott, et al" (PDF). June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  42. ^ "Federal appeals court extends block on voting-by-mail expansion in Texas". June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  43. ^ "Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott, 961 F.3d 389 (5th Cir. June 4, 2020) - Google Scholar". scholar.google.co.uk. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  44. ^ "Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott, No. 20-50407 (5th Cir. Sep. 10, 2020) - Google Scholar". scholar.google.co.uk. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  45. ^ Ura, Alexa (June 16, 2020). "Texas Democrats ask U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on voting by mail". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  46. ^ "Justices decide a day-rate is not a salary". SCOTUSblog. February 23, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  47. ^ Davies, Ross E.; Gossett, David M.; Kosma, Montgomery N., eds. (Spring 2004). "Front Matter" (PDF). The Green Bag. 2D. 7 (3): 1–4.
  48. ^ "Biography of Judge James C. Ho" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by Solicitor General of Texas
2008–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
2018–present 		Incumbent
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