The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Judge William Young Should Retire
Last month I wrote a post about Judge William Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
I offered this unsolicited advice:
Judge Young turns 85 later this month. He has had a distinguished judicial career spanning half a century. A lot has changed since he graduated law school in 1967. Perhaps this apology provides a moment to reconsider where his talents and efforts are best suited.
Judge Young did not take my advice. Instead, he styled a judicial decision as a 161-page letter to an anonymous postcard writer. It began in this fashion:
And closed like this:
I offer no comments on the merits here. Instead, I see the case of a judge who has forgotten what the judicial role is. Perhaps Judge Young has been led astray by zealous clerks who are taking advantage of the situation. Perhaps Judge Young is ignoring advice from friends and colleagues, and wrote this decision himself. Or perhaps there is some other situation at hand. I don't know.
Judge Young should step down. Article III offers life tenure, not a life sentence. Judge Young already took senior status during the early Biden Administration, so Trump cannot name his replacement. And Young's absence would have no negative impact on restraining President Trump. Indeed, quite the opposite would be true. Any other judge in Boston could reach the same result, with an opinion that is far less likely to be reversed. To paraphrase William F. Buckley, I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the Boston telephone directory than by Judge Young.
Let this 161-page decision be Judge Young's magnum, and farewell, opus.
