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70+ Former Reinhardt Clerks Come Out In Support Of Sexual Harassment Accuser

Some also say they experienced or witnessed inappropriate behavior too.

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Statement of Former Clerks to Judge Stephen Reinhardt

The signatories of this letter clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt during his 38 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We believe that it is important for us to speak out in support of another former clerk regarding sexual harassment that she experienced while working for Judge Reinhardt.

We believe the clerk’s testimony that she experienced inappropriate conduct, including sexual harassment. We are thankful to the clerk for her courage in speaking out about her experience.

The conduct the clerk described is totally unacceptable in any workplace. It is particularly unfortunate that this conduct occurred in the chambers of a preeminent judge who made pursuing justice his lifelong goal and who wrote countless opinions advancing the cause of gender equality, civil rights, and labor rights. In our view, ending sexual harassment is a core requirement for gender equality. Ending all forms of discrimination and harassment is critical to realizing the promise of civil rights.

We regret that the clerk did not feel secure in reaching out to the network of Reinhardt clerks, and hope that we can do more to support her now and going forward. In the immediate aftermath of her testimony, many of us have publicly and privately communicated our support for her. We agree with her that no one is above the law—especially not federal judges who have tremendous power in our society and the legal community. We strongly believe that all people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We hope that the Judicial Conference — and, if need be, Congress — will take bold steps to ensure that all judges and judicial personnel will be trained in principles of antidiscrimination and anti-harassment; to implement an effective system for reporting and responding to complaints of discrimination and harassment; and to protect law clerks and other personnel from such mistreatment. It is past time to extend the protections of Title VII, or their equivalent, to the judicial branch. There is no justification for a system in which antidiscrimination law applies to all except those who interpret and enforce it.

Some of us experienced or witnessed conduct in chambers that we would call sexist, workplace bullying or mistreatment. Others did not. Most of us were as shocked as the rest of the world to learn of the clerk’s experience in Judge Reinhardt’s final year. All of us, whatever our personal experience, are united that no clerk should have to go through this kind of ordeal and that it is important to stand with those who speak out about it.

Sponsored

Signatories

Kevin Johnson, 1983-84

Carlos Vázquez, 1983-84

Angel Oquendo, 1986-87

Brian Bix, 1987-88

Sponsored

Gail Coleman, 1990-91

Michael C. Dorf, 1990-91

Julie E. Cohen, 1991-92

Michael Subit, 1992-93

Patrick Cheng, 1993-94

Christopher Sprigman, 1993-94

Heather Gerken, 1994-95

Hector Villagra, 1995-96

Kimberly West-Faulcon, 1995-96

Catherine Lhamon* Honorary Fifth Clerk 1996-97

Richard Katskee, 1996-97

David Law, 1996-97

Greg Chen, 1997-98

Stan Hsue, 1997-98

Theresa Trzaskoma, 1997-98

Michele Landis Dauber, 1998-99

Stacey Leyton, 1998-99

Benjamin Sachs, 1998-99

Deirdre D. von Dornum, 1998-99

Ahilan Arulanantham, 1999-2000

Adam Cox, 1999-2000

Anne Voigts, 1999-2000

Adriaan Lanni, 2000-01

Eric J. Miller, 2000-01

Robin Toone, 2000-01

Dan Williams, 2000-01

Katie Tinto, 2001-02

David Gold, 2002-03

Justin Levitt, 2002-03

Claudia Wilner, 2002-03

Laura Faer, 2003-04

John Rappaport, 2006-07

Peter Romer-Friedman, 2006-07

Talia Inlender, 2007-08

Brook Hopkins, 2007-08

David Tannenbaum, 2007-08

Aliza Plener Cover, 2008-09

Andrew Crespo, 2008-09

Mariko Hirose, 2008-09

Casey Pitts, 2008-09

Jessica Karp Bansal, 2009-10

Maureen Carroll, 2009-10

Stella Burch Elias, 2009-10

Sonam Henderson, 2009-10

Brian Goldman, 2010-11

Dov Fox, 2010-11

Jonathan Schneller, 2010-11

Aaron Scherzer, 2010-11

Carmen Iguina Gonzalez, 2011-12

Daniel Winik, 2011-12

Rose Ehler, 2012-13

Arpit Garg, 2012-13

Philip Mayor, 2012-13

Nick Tarasen, 2012-13

Kristin Garcia, 2013-14

Alisa Hartz, 2013-14

Joshua Matz, 2013-14

Jordi de la Torre Anglada, 2014-15

Hannah Garden-Monheit 2014-15

Jeremy Kreisberg, 2014-15

Aaron Littman, 2014-15

Brian Olney, 2014-15

Edward Fox, 2015-16

Andrew Kushner, 2015-16

Casey Raymond, 2015-16

Jennifer Utrecht, 2015-16

Louis Fisher, 2016-17

Geoff Shaw, 2016-17

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