Stanford law school students line halls dressed in black masks as Judge Kyle Duncan row rumbles on

Stanford law students who last week heckled a conservative judge who had been invited to speak at the school vandalized the office of the dean of students last night as payback for her apologizing to him.

The students plastered the walls of Jenny Martinez’s office, claiming they were entitled to free speech and ‘counter speech’ in yet another protest. It’s unclear if any will be disciplined. 

Last week, a mob of the students – led by the school’s diversity dean – stormed the Federalist Society where Judge Kyle Duncan had been invited to speak. They heckled him and held up grotesque signs in a show of protest against his politics.  

Stanford hasn’t fired the dean who led the mob, but Martinez issued an apology to Duncan – a Trump-appointed judge. 

Duncan labeled them ‘idiots’ who are unfit to serve as lawyers.  

On Monday students made their displeasure at her apology clear, papering over her whiteboard with printed signs that read: ‘We have free speech rights too’; ‘Where is our apology?’; and ‘Counter-speech is free speech’.

At the end of the class, Martinez left the room to be confronted with a corridor lined with law students wearing black masks that read: ‘Counter-speech is free speech.’

Jenny Martinez, the dean of Stanford Law School, found her classroom had been vandalized on Monday

The students stood in silent, flanking the corridor on either side from her classroom to the exit.

The corridor protesters represented nearly a third of the law school, the students told the Washington Free Beacon, and included 50 out of 60 of Martinez’s constitutional law class.

Those who declined to join the protest say they were shunned by their fellow students. 

‘They gave us weird looks if we didn’t wear black’ and join the crowd, said Luke Schumacher, a first-year law student in Martinez’s class who declined to participate in the protest. 

‘It didn’t feel like the inclusive, belonging atmosphere that the DEI office claims to be creating.’

Another student told the site: ‘It was eerie. The protesters were silent, staring from behind their masks at everyone who chose not to protest, including the dean.’ 

Judge Kyle Duncan looks on in baffled, barely-disguised anger as Tirien Steinbach, the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, berates him in front of the class

Duncan said he was unable to deliver his prepared remarks because he was immediately ambushed by students, and then the dean

Martinez’s letter to Judge Duncan was sent on Saturday, two days after the event.

‘We write to apologize for the disruption of your recent speech at Stanford Law School,’ she wrote, in a co-signed letter with Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of Stanford University.

‘As has already been communicated to our community, what happened was inconsistent with our policies on free speech.

‘We are very sorry about the experience you had while visiting our campus.’

The letter angered several student groups.

Stanford Law School’s chapter of the American Constitution Society said that Martinez and Tessier-Lavigne had framed Duncan ‘as a victim, when in fact he himself had made civil dialogue impossible.’

Four Stanford students then wrote in The Stanford Review that the letter of apology was ‘meaningless’ unless the dean of equity, who led the protests against Duncan and encouraged students to walk out of the talk, was fired. 

Martinez apologized to Judge Duncan on behalf of the school, saying the incident was not indicative of its free speech policies 

Duncan, from the fifth circuit of appeals, was ambushed by the associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion Tirien Steinbach during the discussion.

Steinbach – a former ACLU lawyer who previously defended free speech – initially claimed Duncan had a right to express his views.  

But she then launched into an impassioned six minute speech – which she had written down – condemning his life’s work.

Duncan looked on bemused as Steinbach stood at the lectern and told the law students she ‘had to write something down because I am so uncomfortable up here.’

She continued: ‘For many people at the law school who work here, who study here, and who live here, your advocacy – your opinions from the bench – land as absolute disenfranchisement of their rights.’

Woke students clicked their fingers in support – after progressive colleges warned handclapping can cause offense – and cried ‘Yes’ in agreement.

‘They feel harmed not just by your speech – because if it was just words that would be one thing. You have authority and power to make decisions that impact the lives of millions,’ Steinbach continued. 

Her voice could be heard trembling at certain points, although it’s unclear whether she was upset at Duncan, or just excited at having the chance to perform.

She said she hoped Duncan could ‘listen through your partisan lens.’ 

Steinbach added: ‘It’s uncomfortable to say this to you as a person. It’s uncomfortable to say that for many people here, your work has caused harm … and I know that must be uncomfortable to hear. It must be.

‘I’m also uncomfortable because many of the people in the room here I have come to care for.’

Duncan stood and shook his head in amazement. Steinbach also voiced her support for free speech.

See also  'Big fat kiss goodbye to the worst year of my life': Louise Thompson shares an honest review of 2022

Judge Kyle Duncan (left) was challenged by the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at Stanford Law School, Tirien Steinbach (right)

Duncan, a 51-year-old Louisiana-born lawyer, known for challenging LGBTQ+ rights, was appointed a federal judge in 2018 by then-President Trump. 

Prior to that he represented Christian company Hobby Lobby in their case against providing contraception on health insurance plans to their staff – a case that Duncan successfully argued before the Supreme Court. 

The LGBTQ+ advocacy group Lambda Legal said Duncan had ‘spent his whole career working to annihilate civil rights progress.’

Duncan compared the protest to incidents at other law schools, including Yale and Georgetown, where student-led protests of conservative speakers prompted discussion about whether law schools are living up to their ideals as bastions of open debate and free speech.

Some federal court judges have said they’ll no longer hire clerks from Yale, over fears they’ll end up with a woke social justice warrior unable to represent someone whose views they find offensive.

Stanford law students could now find themselves shunned too. The school is one of the wokest and most prestigious colleges in the United States.

Last year, it sparked uproar after publishing a ‘harmful language guide,’ which claimed words including ‘American’ and ‘brave’ were offensive – and that the phrase ‘give it a go’ glorified violent imagery. 

‘I told [students] this is not going to work in a courtroom, this way of disagreement,’ Duncan said of the tussle. 

‘Maybe that’s where we are going as a society, but that doesn’t work in my courtroom.’

Law student Tessa Silverman, who attended the protest, told Reuters that Duncan himself appeared angry and called some students ‘idiots.’

Duncan confirmed it.

‘They are idiots,’ he said. ‘They are hypocrites and they are bullies.’