Judge Kyle Duncan of 5th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals spoke to Hillsdale Federalist Society
Law is one of the best ways to promote a return to America’s founding principles of justice and limited government, according to Judge Kyle Duncan of the 5th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
“Law is really trying to get to the truth of something. I care about how to use the law, the Constitution, statutes, and regulations to order our lives together as a people,” Trump-appointed Duncan said to members of Hillsdale’s chapter of the Federalist Society March 2.
The Federalist Society hosted Duncan and Marc Ayers, an attorney with Bradley Law Firm, to discuss their respective experiences in appellate litigation. With Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Pre-Law Program Nathan Schlueter moderating, Ayers and Duncan responded to questions regarding the role of the appellate procedure within the American legal system.
“In appellate court, one party either wants to get a verdict reversed or affirmed,” Ayers said. “It’s a back-and-forth about the law, how we ought to interpret this statute, how to resolve this conflict and this statute.”
According to Duncan, movies and popular culture fail to portray the gravity and sanctity of the legal process.
“It’s in public and there are ceremonials,” Duncan said. “You’re sitting up on a bench in a beautiful courthouse, and that focuses the mind. There’s a ceremony to it, but it’s like a liturgy.”
Appellate law is primarily a discussion between a counsel and a randomly selected panel of judges on the interpretation of law, according to Ayers and Duncan.
“From my perspective, the lawyer’s there to help me decide the case, not to make a pretty speech,” Duncan said. “I want the lawyer to tell me something about the case that I didn’t know.”
Circuit judges focus their attention across thousands of cases every year, so the counsel must present his or her cases directly and tactfully, Ayers said.
“As an attorney, you have to identify the real key issue that the judges can understand very quickly because they have thousands of cases they’re churning through, and they’re not going to know the case like you do,” Ayers said. “You have to get to that interesting issue and get them on your side.”
Sophomore Lindsey Stevens attended the discussion and said it revealed more opportunities within the law field.
“Getting to have Judge Duncan come and talk to us and, not dumb it down, but explain further to us and let us hear what the appellate courts do is really beneficial to students looking into law,” Stevens said. “And Mr. Ayers, too, is very involved in the appellate field so having him talk about his personal experience from the attorney’s side was very cool.”
According to Stevens, Hillsdale’s connections to individuals in the legal field are useful resources for students pursuing law.
“My favorite thing about the Federalist Society is that so many experts in law are willing to pour in to Hillsdale, specifically in our chapter,” Stevens said. “So it’s very unique that we have this opportunity to hear from such knowledgeable people.”
Ayers discussed the Federalist Society’s work across the nation to re-introduce conservative thinking to left-leaning law schools, particularly regarding discourse on government agencies.
“There is now a huge voice, the Federalist Society, that says we need to rethink the role of federal government and the role of government agencies and how much deference they should get,” Ayers said.
Ayers and Duncan said law-interested students should consider careers within the appellate field. Both said an interest in closely reading and interpreting texts could indicate a future in appellate law.
According to Duncan, knowledge and character are important skills to have in the law field.
“You need a good reason to go to law school,” Duncan said. “One good reason to do it is because we need good people who know what our country is supposed to be founded on to be in the federal government, state governments, and law firms.”
