Platohagel: Is Judge Cannon a member of the Federalist Society?

Socrates: Yes, Judge Aileen Cannon is a member of the Federalist Society. She joined the organization in 2005 while she was attending the University of Michigan Law School. She has cited her interest in the diversity of legal viewpoints and the organization’s discussions on the constitutional separation of powers, the rule of law, and the limited role of the judiciary as reasons for her involvement oai_citation:1,Aileen Cannon Federalist Society Ties, Explained oai_citation:2,Aileen Cannon Joined The Federalist Society in 2005 oai_citation:3,Who is Aileen Cannon, Trump-appointed judge overseeing the classified documents case?.

Platohagel: What is the role of the Federalist Society and its three branches?

Socrates: The Federalist Society is a conservative and libertarian organization that aims to reform the current legal order. It emphasizes the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the Constitution, and that it is the judiciary’s duty to interpret the law as it is written, rather than to make new law oai_citation:1,Aileen Cannon Federalist Society Ties, Explained oai_citation:2,Aileen Cannon, Federal Judge: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.

The Society has three main branches:

1. Lawyers Division: This branch serves legal professionals, including practicing lawyers, judges, and other members of the legal community. It organizes events, conferences, and publications to foster discussion and debate on key legal issues from a conservative and libertarian perspective.
2. Student Division: Focused on law students, this branch aims to influence the next generation of legal professionals by providing a platform for discussing and exploring conservative and libertarian legal theories. It supports chapters in law schools across the United States and offers programs, events, and resources to its members.
3. Faculty Division: This division engages law school faculty members who share the Society’s principles. It promotes scholarly research and discussion on legal and constitutional issues, facilitates collaboration among conservative and libertarian academics, and supports efforts to influence the broader academic discourse on law and public policy oai_citation:3,Aileen Cannon Joined The Federalist Society in 2005 oai_citation:4,Who is Aileen Cannon, Trump-appointed judge overseeing the classified documents case?.

Platohagel: How many of the Supreme Court justices are members of the Federalist Society?

Socrates: As of now, six out of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices have been associated with the Federalist Society. These justices include Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. This association reflects the significant influence the Federalist Society has had on shaping the judiciary, particularly with conservative and libertarian legal principles oai_citation:1,How the Federalist Society came to dominate the Supreme Court — Harvard Gazette oai_citation:2,Should These Justices Have Attended the Federalist Society Celebration? | New York Law Journal oai_citation:3,6 Catholics, 1 Court: SCOTUS and the rise of the Federalist Society – POLITICO.

Notable members

Current officeholders

• Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts (disputed)^{[note 1]}
• Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito^[7]
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas^[7]
• Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch^[51]
• Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh^[52][53]
• Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett^[11]
• FBI Director Christopher A. Wray
• United States Court of Appeals Judge (D.C. Cir.) Neomi Rao^[54]
• United States Court of Appeals Judge (9th Cir.) Lawrence VanDyke^[55]
• United States Court of Appeals Senior Judge (5th Cir.) Edith Brown Clement^[56]
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Ada E. Brown^[57]
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon^[58]
• Senator Ted Cruz, Republican Senator of Texas^[59]
• Senator Josh Hawley, Republican Senator of Missouri^[60]
• Senator Todd Young, Republican Senator of Indiana
• Florida Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso^[61]

Former officeholders

• Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (who served as the original faculty advisor to the organization)^[62]
• United States Attorney General Edwin Meese^[63]
• U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft^[63]
• United States Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler, a co-founder of the Federalist Society^[5]
• United States Solicitor General Theodore Olson^[63]
• United States Solicitor General Paul Clement^[5]
• President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate Orrin Hatch^[62]
• Professor Michael W. McConnell at Stanford Law School and former United States Court of Appeals Judge (10th Cir.)^[64]
• U.S. Senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham^[63]
• United States Ambassador to the European Union C. Boyden Gray^[63]
• United States Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton^[63]
• United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff^[65]
• General counsel of the Office of Management and Budget and of the Department of Homeland Security Philip Perry^[65]
• Texas State Representative and Dallas lawyer Bill Keffer^[66]
• United States Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia^[67]
• Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and former acting head of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice Jeffrey Clark^[68]
• United States Court of Appeals Chief Judge (9th Cir.) Alex Kozinski^[63]
• United States Court of Appeals Judge (D.C. Cir.) Robert Bork^[69]
• United States Court of Appeals Judge (D.C. Cir.) Thomas Griffith^[70]

Academia

• Former President of Baylor University and former independent counsel Kenneth Starr^[62]
• Former Columbia Law School Dean David Schizer^[71]
• Professor Gary S. Lawson of Boston University School of Law^[72]
• Professor Richard Epstein of the New York University School of Law^[73]
• Professor William Baude of the University of Chicago Law School^[74]
• Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center^[5]
• Roger Pilon, Director of Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute^[75]
• Former Dean of Chapman University School of Law John C. Eastman^[76]

See: The Federalist Society

See Also: Full Text of The Federalist Papers