In December, I wrote about a misconduct complaint filed against Judge Stephen Vaden of the Court of International Trade. The complaint charged that the Columbia boycott violated the code of judicial ethics.
Today, the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council dismissed that complaint. Here is the crux of the analysis concerning the boycott:
Except to the extent prohibited by these regulations and guidelines, judges have wide discretion to establish their own screening and selection criteria in appointing law clerks. This latitude permits judges to make distinctions among applicants based on their own determinations of the relevant criteria or qualifications, including where the applicants were educated. Some judges only hire graduates of certain law schools. Some tailor their preferences to the specific needs of their court or chambers—for example, by looking for candidates from law schools with excellent writing or trial advocacy…
