View source for James C. Ho

{{Short description|American judge}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = James C. Ho
| image        = James C. Ho.png
| office       = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]
| appointer    = [[List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump|Donald Trump]]
| term_start   = January 4, 2018
| term_end     =
| predecessor  = [[Carolyn Dineen King]]
| successor    =
| order1       = 4th
| office1      = Solicitor General of Texas
| 1blankname1  = Attorney General
| 1namedata1   = [[Greg Abbott]]
| term_start1  = May 12, 2008
| term_end1    = December 9, 2010
| predecessor1 = [[Ted Cruz]]
| successor1   = [[Jonathan F. Mitchell]]
| birth_name   = 
| birth_date   = {{Birth year and age|1973}}
| birth_place  = [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]]
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| education    = [[Stanford University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])<br>[[University of Chicago Law School]] ([[Juris Doctor|J.D.]])
| party        = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse       =
| module       = {{Infobox Chinese
|child=yes
|hide=no
|c=何俊宇
|p=Hé Jùnyǔ
|w=Ho<sup>2</sup> Chün<sup>4</sup>-yü<sup>3</sup>
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|h|e|2|-|j|ün|4|.|yu|3}} }}
}}

'''James Chiun-Yue Ho''' (born 1973) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a [[United States federal judge|United States Circuit Judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]].

== Early life and education ==
Ho was born in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], in 1973.<ref name=FJCBio>[https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/ho-james-c Ho, James C.], ''History of the Federal Judiciary'', Federal Judicial Center.</ref> He moved to the United States with his parents as a toddler.<ref name="JCouncilTXLawyer12142017">{{cite news |last=Council |first=John |date=December 14, 2017 |title=Senate Confirms Former Texas Solicitor General James Ho to Fifth Circuit |url=https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/sites/texaslawyer/2017/12/14/senate-confirms-former-texas-solicitor-general-james-ho-to-fifth-circuit/ |work=[[ALM (company)|Texas Lawyer]] |location=[[New York City]] |access-date=December 14, 2017 }}</ref> He received his [[Bachelor of Arts]] in public policy, with honors, from [[Stanford University]] and a [[Juris Doctor]] with high honors, from the [[University of Chicago Law School]] in 1999.<ref name="JCouncilTXLawyer12142017" />

== Career ==
After graduating from law school, Ho was a law clerk to Judge [[Jerry Edwin Smith]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] from 1999 to 2000.<ref name=FJCBio/> He was in private practice in [[Washington, D.C.]], from 2000 to 2001.<ref name=FJCBio/> He then joined the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]], first in the [[Civil Rights Division]] (2001) and then in the [[Office of Legal Counsel]] (2001-2003).<ref name=FJCBio/> He was chief counsel to subcommittees of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]] from 2003 to 2005<ref name=FJCBio/> under Republican Senator [[John Cornyn]].<ref name=Johnson>{{cite web | last1=Johnson | first1=Carrie | title=Legal Opinions Or Political Commentary? A New Judge Exemplifies The Trump Era | url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/26/632005799/legal-opinions-or-political-commentary-a-new-judge-exemplifies-the-trump-era | date=July 26, 2018 | publisher=[[NPR]] | access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref> He was then a law clerk to [[United States Supreme Court]] Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] from 2005 to 2006.<ref name=FJCBio/> Ho was in private practice in [[Dallas, Texas]] from 2006 to 2008 and 2010 to 2017.<ref name=FJCBio/> From 2008 to 2010, he was Solicitor General of Texas in the Office of the [[Attorney General of Texas]],<ref name=FJCBio/> replacing [[Ted Cruz]] in that position.<ref name=Johnson/> As Texas solicitor general, Ho led the state's lawsuits against the [[Obama administration]].<ref name=Johnson/>

Ho has worked as a volunteer attorney with the [[First Liberty Institute]], a religious legal advocacy organization.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/12/14/1262269/0/en/First-Liberty-Institute-Congratulates-Its-Former-Volunteer-Attorney-James-C-Ho-on-His-Judicial-Confirmation.html|title=First Liberty Institute Congratulates Its Former Volunteer Attorney James C. Ho on His Judicial Confirmation|date= December 14, 2017|access-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Marcus | first1=Ilana | last2=Eaton | first2=Joshua | last3=Timms | first3=Ed | title=Federal judges: From political players to lifetime appointments | url=https://www.rollcall.com/2020/03/20/federal-judges-from-political-players-to-lifetime-appointments/ | date=March 20, 2020 | work=[[Roll Call]] | access-date=May 24, 2020}}</ref> He has held multiple positions as a member of the [[Federalist Society]] since 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/James%20Ho%20SJQ.pdf |title=Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees |website=judiciary.senate.gov |access-date=June 30, 2018}}</ref>

In a 2006 law review article published in ''[[The Green Bag (1997)|The Green Bag]]'', Ho wrote that "Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. That birthright is protected no less for children of undocumented persons than for descendants of ''[[Mayflower]]'' passengers."<ref name="Ho">{{cite journal | journal=[[The Green Bag (1997)|The Green Bag]] | volume=9 | year=2006 | page=376 |last1=Ho |first1=James Chiun-Yue|author-link1=James C. Ho| title=Defining "American": Birthright Citizenship and the Original Understanding of the 14th Amendment | url=http://www.gibsondunn.com/publications/Documents/Ho-DefiningAmerican.pdf | access-date=2012-03-27 | issue=4 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030012325/http://www.gibsondunn.com/publications/Documents/Ho-DefiningAmerican.pdf | archive-date=2010-10-30 | url-status=dead | issn=1095-5216 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="posttrumpjudge">{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Deanna |title=Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. A judge he appointed says he can't. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/30/trump-wants-end-birthright-citizenship-judge-he-appointed-says-he-cant/ |access-date=2018-12-20 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2018-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116081906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/30/trump-wants-end-birthright-citizenship-judge-he-appointed-says-he-cant/|archive-date=2018-11-16| df=mdy-all }}</ref> In a 2011 op-ed published in the ''Wall Street Journal'', Ho wrote that "Opponents of illegal immigration cannot claim to champion the rule of law and then, in the same breath, propose policies that violate our Constitution."<ref name="posttrumpjudge"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ho |first1=James |title=Birthright Citizenship and the 14th Amendment |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203731004576045380685742092 |access-date=December 20, 2018 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=January 5, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170509204741/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203731004576045380685742092|archive-date=May 9, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Federal judicial service ===
On September 28, 2017, President [[Donald Trump]] announced his intent to nominate Ho as a Circuit Judge to an undetermined seat on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]].<ref name=SvitekPlatoff>Patrick Svitek & Emma Platoff, [https://www.texastribune.org/2017/09/28/trump-taps-2-texans-willett-and-ho-5th-circuit/ Trump taps two Texans — Willett and Ho — for judicial posts], ''Texas Tribune'' (September 28, 2017).</ref> Cruz had promoted Ho as a candidate for a vacancy on the court.<ref name=SvitekPlatoff/> On October 16, 2017, Trump sent Ho's nomination to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge [[Carolyn Dineen King]], who took [[senior status]].<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/1108 PN1108 — James C. Ho — The Judiciary], 115th Congress (2017-2018), Congress.gov.</ref> On November 15, 2017, a hearing on his nomination was held before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref>[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/11/15/2017/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for November 15, 2017]</ref> On December 7, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 11–9 vote.<ref>[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting%2012-07-17.pdf Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 7, 2017, Senate Judiciary Committee]</ref> On December 14, 2017, the full United States Senate voted 53–43 to confirm Ho's nomination.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00317 U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session United States Senate Vote Summary: Vote Number 317, United States Senate, December 14, 2017]</ref> He received his judicial commission on January 4, 2018.

In July 2018, [[Carrie Johnson (journalist)|Carrie Johnson]] of [[NPR]] wrote that "Ho has shaken up the staid world of appellate law by deploying aggressive rhetoric in cases involving guns, abortion rights and campaign finance regulations." According to NPR, "Critics say Ho is writing op-ed columns, not legal opinions. Friends and former colleagues said he's an intellectual engaging with ideas. And that he's just getting started."<ref name=Johnson/>

On September 9, 2020, Trump included Ho on a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court.<ref>[https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-judicial-appointments/ "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments"]</ref>

=== Notable opinions===
On April 18, 2018, in his first written opinion as a Fifth Circuit judge, Ho dissented from a denial of a rehearing ''[[en banc]]'' in a case regarding a [[Campaign finance in the United States|limit on campaign contributions]]. The Fifth Circuit three-judge panel upheld the constitutionality of a [[Austin, Texas|City of Austin]] ordinance setting an individual campaign contribution limit of $350 per election for candidates for mayor and city council, rejecting the plaintiff's claim that the limit violated the [[First Amendment of the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. In his dissent, Ho argued the court "should have granted rehearing en banc and held that the Austin contribution limit violates the First Amendment" and asserted that "if there is too much money in politics, it's because there's too much government."<ref>''[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4269082086850393014 Zimmerman v. City of Austin]'', 881 F.3d 378 (5th Cir. 2018).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/james-ho-shows-the-presidents-court-packing-strategy-is-working.html |title=Trump Judge Judges Trumpily |last=Stern |first=Mark Joseph |date=April 24, 2018 |website=slate.com |access-date=May 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-appointed-judge-delivers-fantastic-campaign-finance-opinion-in-first-ruling |title=Trump-appointed judge delivers fantastic campaign finance opinion in first ruling |last=Smith |first=Bradley |date=May 2, 2018 |magazine=[[The Washington Examiner]] |access-date=May 6, 2018}}</ref>

On 2020, Ho was a member of a panel that stayed a preliminary injunction entered by U.S. District Judge [[Samuel Frederick Biery Jr.|Fred Biery]] that expanded the right to use a [[Postal voting in the 2020 United States elections|mail-in ballot]] to all Texas voters during the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic in Texas|COVID-19 pandemic]] (allowing broader use of mail-in voting than under the Texas Election Code, which entitled only Texas voters over age 65 to vote absentee without an excuse). Ho wrote a separate concurring opinion favoring the state officials.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4c6a8f8249814314d7e84258c0d2ca37/5thCircuitVBMMotionPendingAppeal.pdf?_ga=2.249116679.1297343671.1591317896-1711246450.1590118534 |title=IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 20-50407: Texas Democratic Party, et al. v. Greg Abbott, et al. |date=June 4, 2020 |access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 4, 2020|title=Federal appeals court extends block on voting-by-mail expansion in Texas|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/04/federal-appeals-court-extends-block-voting-mail-expansion-texas/|access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott, 961 F.3d 389 (5th Cir. June 4, 2020) - Google Scholar|url=https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_case?case=8934111846629613891|access-date=2020-10-13|website=scholar.google.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott, No. 20-50407 (5th Cir. Sep. 10, 2020) - Google Scholar|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9985145995200608910|access-date=2020-10-13|website=scholar.google.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ura|first=Alexa|date=2020-06-16|title=Texas Democrats ask U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on voting by mail|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/16/texas-vote-by-mail/|access-date=2020-06-18|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref> 

In 2020, Ho wrote a concurring opinion in another voting rights case, involving a challenge to Texas Governor [[Greg Abbott]]'s order restricting the number of drop-off locations for mail-in ballot to one per county. Abbott's order closed dozens of drop-off locations in populous, heavily Democratic urban areas in Texas. The order was challenged by civil rights groups, and the district court held that the order violated the constitutional right to vote. Ho joined a Fifth Circuit order that stayed the district court's ruling and held that the governor's order did not infringe the right to vote. In a concurring opinion, Ho wrote that Texas election law should not be "rewritten" by "executive fiat" or "judicial fiat."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Texas LULAC v. Hughs, No. 20-50867 (5th Cir. Oct 12, 2020)|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-50867-CV0.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-voting-rights-elections-greg-abbott-courts-3925738b417f0d5cd2501e3c12039aa9|work=Associated Press|title=Court reinstates Texas limit on ballot drop-off locations|date=October 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Platoff|first=Emma|date=2020-10-13|title=Texas counties can offer only one drop-off ballot location, federal appeals court rules, upholding Gov. Greg Abbott's order|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/13/texas-election-ballot-drop-off/|access-date=2020-10-14|website=The Texas Tribune|language=en}}</ref>&nbsp;

== See also ==
* [[Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates]]
* [[List of Asian American jurists]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{FJC Bio|nid=4025386}}
* [https://www.oyez.org/advocates/james_c_ho Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court] from the [[Oyez Project]]
* [http://www.uscourts.gov/judicial-milestones/judge-james-c-ho James C. Ho at U.S. Courts]
* {{Ballotpedia|James_Ho|James Ho}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ted Cruz]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[Solicitor General of Texas]]}}|years=2008–2010}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jonathan F. Mitchell]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Carolyn Dineen King]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]}}|years=2018–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}

{{Texas State Solicitors General}}
{{United States courts of appeals judges}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, James Chiun-Yue}}
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American judges]]
[[Category:American jurists of Taiwanese descent]]
[[Category:American politicians of Taiwanese descent]]
[[Category:Federalist Society members]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]
[[Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
[[Category:People associated with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher]]
[[Category:Solicitors General of Texas]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:Taiwanese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Texas lawyers]]
[[Category:Texas Republicans]]
[[Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump]]
[[Category:United States Department of Justice lawyers]]
[[Category:United States Senate lawyers]]
[[Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni]]