Fifth Circuit’s James Ho Warns of ‘Off Track’ District Judges

Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho said appellate courts should be prepared to step in quickly “when district courts refuse to stay in their lane,” as trial court judges face attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies for some rulings against his administration.

Ho said that the judiciary is “the least powerful branch,” and that all judges have “is our voice.”

“So we need the other branches of government to respect our judgments,” Ho said. “That means that we need to earn their respect. We need to demonstrate that our decisions are based on law, not politics—and that we’re exercising not force or will, but merely judgment.”

Ho made the comments at a March 29 event for a new Texas A&M University law journal. Bloomberg Law viewed a copy of his remarks.

Ho, a Trump appointee to the New Orleans-based appeals court, said that while appellate judges can’t act alone, that’s not true for district court judges.

“With unilateral power, there’s unique danger that some district courts may get off track. There’s a reason why there are jokes about God wishing that he was a federal district judge,” he said.

“So it’s vital that district judges exercise their powers carefully and with integrity,” Ho added.

Ho made his remarks amid a congressional effort to limit the reach of district court judges’ rulings. The Republican-led House plans to vote this week on a bill that would prevent district court judges from being able to issue national injunctions. But it’s unclear whether the measure could pass in the Senate, as it would need Democratic support there.

District court judges have issued dozens of rulings against the Trump administration’s sweeping use of executive power. While some legal experts say the administration has the right to enact its policies, others have said some could risk losing rights in the US if judges don’t have the right to pause new actions while they weigh legal arguments.

Legal ‘Elites’

Ho also echoed comments he’s recently made in criticizing legal “elites,” particularly at large law firms, and warning of a “double standard” when it comes to judicial independence.

At the March 29 event, Ho said that “elites” will “praise and protect judges who do their bidding—and condemn and cancel those who don’t.”

“And they do it for strategic reasons. Because they know that it’s just human nature that most people, including judges, desire approval—and fear rejection—particularly from our nation’s elites,” Ho said.

He said that there’s “a war for the soul of the judiciary.”

“Are we going to be governed by law—or by the will of the elites?” Ho asked. He said that if judges don’t reject the “condescension and the bullying of the elites,” then they “will lose the trust of the American people.”

“That will be fatal to the rule of law. And it will be entirely our fault,” Ho said. “Because without the trust of the American people, then the judiciary has nothing.”