Federal Judge Who Overturned the Mask Mandate Has Suspect Connections
Trump-appointed Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who recently struck down the travel mask mandate and who was called "unqualified" by the ABA, has links to Justice Clarence Thomas.
US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the Biden administration's mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods yesterday, creating sudden confusion for travelers and the American public.
Several airlines and travel authorities announced on Monday evening that masks are now optional and the Department of Justice has yet to issue a statement on whether the agency will file an appeal and seek an order to halt the ruling while the case is reviewed.
In her ruling, Judge Mizelle stated that the mandate was unlawful because it exceeded the statutory authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its implementation violated administrative law. This decision comes on the heels of the CDC extending Biden’s mask mandate, that applies to airplanes, trains and other forms of public transportation, through May 3.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki called the decision “dissapointing” on Monday afternoon and also said the Justice Department is currently deciding how to procceed with regard to a legal response. A Biden administration official said the following on Monday night: “ The TSA will not enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time [even though the] CDC recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings."
Judge Mizelle, who is now substituing her inexpert scientific views for those of the CDC, was appointed to the federal bench by then-President Donald Trump in 2020. She was 33 when she was given a lifetime appointment and had been practicing law for only 8 years. Following her nomination to the bench, the American Bar Association (ABA) gave her a rating of “not qualified” on the basis that she had insufficient experience.
The ABA letter stated that federal judicial nominees ordinarily should have at least 12 years of practice experience, and “substantial courtroom and trial experience as a lawyer or trial judge is important.” Mizelle had never tried a case as a lead attorney and was admitted to practice law in the State of Florida in 2012. The ABA called this lack of trial experience “a rather marked departure from the 12-year minimum.”
Mizelle had previously worked in the Deptartment of Justice as a trial attorney in the tax division and as a special assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to an Aug. 12 press release announcing her nomination — but this link from the Trump administration has since been removed.
“Of her four distinguished federal clerkships,” the standing committee said in the letter, “one clerkship was in the trial court.” The committee went on to explain: “That year, plus her 10 months at a reputable law firm and approximately three years in government practice translates into five years of experience in the trial courts.” The ABA standing committee also noted that Mizelle’s experience in federal grand jury proceedings were “nonadversarial and [did] not take place before a judge.”
During Mizelle’s confirmation in the Fall of 2020, Republicans made a point to cite her “impressive resumé.” Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) praised Mizelle’s experience saying, “You have in your career as a lawyer amassed more experience than many lawyers I’ve known who have been out of law school for twice that amount of time.” Perhaps the biggest tell in the process came from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who told Kathryn Mizelle, “Your clerkship history is as strong as I’ve ever seen.”
Mizelle had not only clerked for three other conservative federal judges, but she had also clerked for US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This link to Justice Thomas is a notable aspect of yesterday’s shocking ruling. When you factor in the recent revelations involving Justice Thomas and major players in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, another circumstantial link is added to a long chain of connections between a sitting Supreme Court Justice, an attempted coup and judges continuing to make Trumpian policy.
According to recently obtained copies of messages from Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Justice Thomas’ wife, a well-known conservative activist, repeatedly pressed Meadows to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the critical weeks following the vote.
This information - which clearly show how Ginni Thomas used her access to Trump's inner circle to encourage and seek to guide the president's strategy to overturn the election — has caused many experts and politicans to demand that Thomas recuse himself from any cases involving Jan. 6. Justice Thomas has already participated in three cases that many argue he was unqualified to hear, so it is clear that he is determined to test the ethical waters and possibly proceed with more cases in which he is compromised.
Another interesting tidbit in all of this, that is merely anectdotal at this point, is the strange discovery found on Capitol Hill a few weeks ago and its loose connection to Justice Thomas. On March 30, Washington, DC, police discovered five fetuses at the home of an anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy.
The basement apartment where Handy was living was searched after a tip was made to police about potential bio-hazard material in the residence. Handy, an anti-abortion activist, had been indicted along with eight others that same week by a federal grand jury for felony conspiracy against rights resulting from a blockade inside a DC abortion clinic in October 2020.
The most interesting aspect of this odd arrest in March is that the address where Handy had the basement apartment was made public and a real estate search found that David M. Morell was the owner. Morell, a member of the Federalist Society, served as Associate White House counsel under the Trump adminsitration and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. David Morell is currently a Partner at Jones Day, the same law firm that previously employed Kathryn Mizelle. Both Mizelle and Morell also held distinguished clerkships with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
While this last bizarre story about Justice Thomas being loosely connected to five fetuses in a basement is certianly not hard and fast evidence of anything nefarious on Thomas’ part, the links to the same type of hungry conservative lawyers with ties to the Federalist Society continute to grow. The most concerning connection for Thomas continues to be that of his with his own wife, but this latest connection to Judge Mizelle and her recent controversial ruling should be drawing more attention.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and hosts the live SHERO podcast on Callin. She is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Many of the physicians I follow on Twitter are decrying Judge Mizelle's apparently appalling lack of knowledge about both the laws in question and about basic medical knowledge. It sounds as if she is not only "unqualified" (per the American Bar Association in 2020) but also incompetent in her knowledge. (This is not too surprising, since she wasn't "ripe" enough when she was Peter Principled onto the bench by an incompetent president.)
Well, score another victory for the "free-dumb" forces in this country. Let's play this out: How long before someone uses Judge Mizelle's "logic" to argue that smoking bans on airplanes are also illegal? It's going to happen, and if the courts are consistent, they will have to strike down those regulations as well. Given my asthma, that will effectively mean that I can no longer fly because a mask isn't going to protect me against the carcinogens that cigarette smoke carries.