College President Larry Arnn hosted a Q&A session with Judge Edith Jones in Phillips Auditorium on Tuesday night. Jones, currently chief judge of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and is a former White House Fellows Commissioner and former member of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.
This week, Jones has been on campus teaching a class to undergraduates and giving students a chance to learn from her 29 years of experience as a federal judge. Tuesday’s talk, which included questions from both Arnn and members of the audience, was on the topic “Lawyers, Judges, and the Rule of Law.”
Arnn introduced Jones as “famous to people who care about the law and think it means something real.” The judge described her conservative stance on the rule of law and the function of the judicial branch in the U.S. government.
“The proper relationship of the court is to apply the Constitution within certain constraints of what has already gone before,” Jones said. “Try to be as consonant with the proper principles of democratic government as possible.”
Jones also discussed her life as an appellate judge in the 5th Circuit, which covers cases in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Jones sees a great variety of cases, sitting all year-round and participating in about 450 appeals per year.
“We get criminal law, we get immigration law, we get commercial law, we get admiralty law. We get as wide a variety as the Supreme Court does,” Jones said.
Students planning to pursue careers in law particularly appreciated Jones’ description of clerks, who assist and receive training from judges.
“A good clerk is somebody who has a zeal for the law,” Jones said.
She also stressed the importance of the ability to work hard.
“They’re going to have all sorts of subjects thrown at them of which they know nothing,” she said. “So I teach them a little bit, send them off to research and hope for the best.”
Senior Brett Wierenga, who attended the event, said her description of clerkship was his favorite part of the talk.
“I’ve always been interested in institutional clerkship,” he said. “And from this, it sounds fantastic. This has been totally confirming in that regard.”
Overall, Jones’ talk received an enthusiastic response from the audience.
“I’d love for her to come and speak to the graduate students as well,” graduate student Samantha Strayer said. “It’s so refreshing to hear somebody articulate their beliefs. I hear the Founders in the back of my mind and I love that.”
Although Jones said she is often publicly criticized for her beliefs, she noted that conflict among other judges and herself when hearing cases is rare. Rather, the three-judge panels do not often argue amongst themselves.
“I’d say on 98 percent of cases, all three judges will agree,” Jones said. “People assume that all the federal courts are rife with political discord, but that is not the case with the vast majority of cases. At a certain level, we all believe in the law and we all operate on pretty much shared principles. There’s still a lot of substance to the way in which we do the law.”
In general, Jones is optimistic about the future.
“Despair is a sin,” Jones told Arnn. “Therefore, one has an obligation in whatever era one lives through to stand up for right principles. Our triumph may be decades away, but unless you start a fight, you’re never going to win a fight.”