Details on the allegations against and investigation of Yale Law School on Professor Jed Rubenfeld

As reported in the Guardian this morning, Yale Law School is conducting an internal investigation into Professor Jed Rubenfeld.

Rubenfeld is important for the national conversation right now, along with his wife and Yale Law School Coordinator Amy Chua, who told several Yale law students that Judge Brett Kavanaugh preferred employees with "some look ". talking about simple dress behavior, as Chua would have said, it's "not by chance" that Kavanaugh's employees "look like dummies". Rubenfeld apparently warned a student to avoid working for two judges: Alex Kozinski and Brett Kavanaugh. We now know why Kozinski was a problem. What do Rubenfeld and Chua know about Brett Kavanaugh who puts him in the same category of judges to avoid?

But that's the problem of the White House now. The problem with Yale Law School is that they have two teachers who offer extremely inappropriate "tips".

And apparently, the school had been worried for Jed Rubenfeld for some time.

We can now report that Yale is conducting an internal investigation into the harassment and allegations of improper conduct regarding Professor Rubenfeld. The law school will neither confirm nor deny the existence of the investigation, but a letter sent to graduates of Yale Law School in the summer confirms that the investigation is In progress.

"The YLS hired an external investigator to examine Professor Rubenfeld's conduct, and people should contact her if they have anything to share. The sooner the better, and it is possible to talk to him so as to preserve anonymity (see details below). The investigator's name is Jenn Davis and can be reached at: [Redacted]

More details:

The YLS seems to be very concerned about what it hears about Professor Rubenfeld's conduct, particularly (but not only) with regard to female students. It is a conduct that seems to go back several decades but has persisted during the last school year. The YLS hired external investigator Jenn Davis to try to provide a more complete picture of this conduct and its environmental effects at the YLS. A Dean Gerken receives this account, a determination will be made on the measures to be taken with regard to the remedies.

Scope and Process: Jenn's competency is about student issues and other types of behaviors that have raised concerns over the years. It seems that she has been tasked with determining whether Professor Rubenfeld contributes to creating a hostile environment for students in general. It is understood that some behaviors may not be unique to him or YLS, but that does not make them OK.

Specifically, it seems that Jenn is interested in hearing, among other things:

· Treat women in the YLS community or separate them. She wants to hear subjects or witnesses of this treatment. (For example, comments about the physical appearance or story of the student's relationship, conversations that seem designed to "test the water," intimidations or manipulative efforts directed at students, etc.).

· Conduct related to excessive alcohol consumption with students (driving with students intoxicated, etc.).

· Inappropriate use of reference agents or coke oven associates.

· Reprisals against students who do not show sufficient loyalty.

Anonymity: YLS gave Jenn permission to speak to individuals (students, students, etc.) and to record (or not) what they have to say, regardless of the level of student. anonymity with which they feel comfortable. There are opportunities to aggregate accounts, to speak completely, and so on. Of course, the more details Jenny can provide, the more useful his report will be, but any account that will help him better understand the environment at YLS will add value. If you are interested in joining, you can make a preliminary call just to talk about procedure, if you wish. You can also change your mind at any time on the level of anonymity to which you provide information. she said that even for people who accept that their name or identification information is used, she will turn around to confirm before sharing them. The flexibility is huge here. That said, the only thing Jenn can offer is solicitor-client privilege; if her records are finally assigned to appear, she could fight the assignment, but can not guarantee that she would win.

Jenn herself: she has been working on surveys in undergraduate and undergraduate programs in similar schools and she seems to recognize the complexity and common dynamics of these types of environments. [Redacted] has already spoken with her and would be happy to talk with anyone who wants to know more.

Yale would not confirm or deny the existence of this survey to Above the Law. A spokesman told us, "We can not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. I can assure you that we take allegations of misconduct from the faculty very seriously. "

But in the Guardian, Jed Rubenfeld confirmed the investigation:

In June, Yale University informed me that it would lead what it calls an "informal review" of certain allegations, but that in order to preserve anonymity, I would not I had no right to know details. Therefore, I do not know what I am supposed to have said or done. It was also made known that the allegations did not compromise my position as a long-time faculty member.

In recent years, I have faced personal attacks and false allegations in response to my writing on difficult and controversial but important legal topics. I have reason to suspect that I am now facing more of the same thing. I strongly believe that universities must conduct appropriate reviews of any allegations of misconduct, but I am also deeply concerned by escalating challenges to the most basic values ​​of due process and a free and respectful academic exchange in Yale and throughout the country.

Nevertheless, I am ready to participate in this process in the hope that it can be completed quickly.

I do not see how "Conduct related to excessive consumption of alcohol with students (driving with students intoxicated, etc.)" it is included in the category of "controversial but important subjects in law". The allegations made against Rubenfeld in this email go far beyond anything that can be described as retaliation for academic beliefs. Nor am I sure that hiring Jenn Davis, a Title IX investigator, qualifies as an "informal review", but we do not know exactly how Yale Law School will be with Rubenfeld about the charges against him.

In addition, Yale law elders tell us that Rubenfeld's behavior towards women was an "open secret" within the Yale legal community. The "crossing borders" allegations mentioned in the e-mail were repeated to us via anonymous e-mails, texts and messages from alumni that we know but do not wish to publish before the end of the investigation. There are even public tweets that seem to talk about these issues, if you know what you are looking for.

There are also questions about Professor Amy Chua. The email suggests an investigation into possible retaliation for insufficient "loyalty", which should reasonably include an investigation to determine if the internship process was compromised. This is, of course, irrelevant to Kavanaugh's comments at this time. In this regard, a spokesperson for Yale Law School would tell us this:

This is the first time we hear about Professor Chua's advice to students. We will review these claims promptly, taking into account that Professor Chua is currently inaccessible due to a serious illness. If this is true, this advice is clearly unacceptable.

Again, Professor Chua does not deny telling the students what she said about Kavanaugh.

The advice given by Professor Amy Chua to students – in her role of advising students on how to find placements – seems extremely inappropriate. The allegations against her husband, Professor Jed Rubenfeld, appear to be serious. And yet, from that moment, all that Professor Chua did, is … defend Brett Kavanaugh. That was his statement to the Guardian:

For more than 10 years now, Judge Kavanaugh's first and only litigation test for hiring has been excellence. It engages only the most qualified employees and they have been diverse and exceptionally talented and knowledgeable.

Yale Law School is the country's largest law school for the identification and training of new federal judges. A federal internship is the keystone of this journey. Amy Chua has been involved in this internship process at Yale for ten years. She is one of the most powerful people in the country to have created new judges.

Perhaps before deploying the reputation of the law school to defend a Supreme Court candidate, Yale must clean up his own court?

But as Yale is determined to defend Kavanaugh at all costs, it is fair to ask: What does Yale know about Kavanaugh that they do not tell us? What does Rubenfeld know? What does Chua know? And will anyone in the Senate Judiciary Committee have the trouble to ask him?

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Elie Mystal is the editor-in-chief of Above the Law and the legal editor of More Perfect. It can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter or at [email protected]. He will resist