NCJW opposes Kasdin Mitchell. Here’s why:
Kasdin Mitchell’s record raises serious concerns about her ability to serve as a fair and independent federal judge. She has longstanding ties to ideologically extreme legal organizations, including serving as a John Marshall Fellow at the Claremont Institute and participating in the Teneo Network. She has also advanced legal arguments that seek to significantly limit federal regulatory authority, narrow environmental protections, and expand corporate First Amendment rights while restricting individual speech protections. Her affiliations and legal work reflect a consistent ideological approach to the law that calls into question her ability to serve with the independence and impartiality required of a lifetime federal judge.
Kasdin Mitchell’s stance on important issues:
Agency Authority
Ms. Mitchell co-authored a white paper concerning agency action, Chevron deference, and the major questions doctrine for the Washington Legal Foundation, a far-right organization that filed an amicus brief arguing for the elimination of Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) in favor of judges, not federal agencies, interpreting federal law.
Free Speech
Ms. Mitchell defended Big Tech companies in two major cases where she fought to limit an individuals’ free speech rights while arguing for an expansion of corporations’ First Amendment rights.
Gun Safety
Ms. Mitchell represented the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022), one of the most controversial and consequential Second Amendment cases in US history.
Education and Career Highlights:
Ms. Mitchell received her BA from Yale University in 2007 and her JD from Yale Law School in 2012. Before law school, she was Assistant Press Secretary to First Lady Laura Bush and a spokesperson in the US Dept of Energy working on oil, gas, and coal issues. After law school, Ms. Mitchell clerked for Judge William Pryor of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and then for Justice Clarence Thomas of the US Supreme Court. She subsequently served as Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Alabama. In 2017, she was a fellow at the Claremont Institute. She later joined Kirkland & Ellis, where she is currently a partner.