Thread by @DavidLat

1/ I'm interrupting my Twitter hiatus to share an important story I just published on Original Jurisdiction:

"Cannon Fodder: Law Clerks Quit On Judge Aileen Cannon"

Here's the link to the full story:

bit.ly/3TqQVRE

2/ Why is this significant? For a few reasons.

First, law clerks are critically important to judges, who couldn't do their work without them.

They are not "clerical." Instead, as I've written before, they're the wind beneath the wings of federal judges.

3/ Second, a federal district judge usually hires only two to three law clerks each year, so for two clerks to quit is quite notable.

It's not like associates quitting a 1,000-lawyer Biglaw firm.

4/ Third, it's super-rare for a clerk to quit on a judge. Because a clerkship typically lasts one year and is an extremely valuable credential, most clerks will “ride it out” instead of quitting, even if they’re miserable or have issues with their judge.

5/ Fourth, it’s highly disruptive to the work of a chambers when even one clerk quits, to say nothing of two.

Judges in busy districts like S.D. Fla. have heavy caseloads. To be short-staffed can generate a backlog VERY quickly.

6/ I have sent multiple emails to the S.D. Fla. press office and the Cannon chambers over the past week.

I have received read receipts, but no responses.

I emailed my story to them just now and will update with any comment they provide.

7/ If you can provide additional info about what’s going on in the Cannon chambers, please contact me by email ([e-mail]) or text message (917-397-2751). Thanks!

8/ Please note the UPDATES that I'll be adding to the post. Like this one:

One clerk who was slated to serve for two years left after one year, sometime in 2023, after having a child. (I flagged a possibility of a departure for personal reasons in FN1.)

9/ Please continue to refresh and check the web version of my post (link at the top of this thread) for all the updates. Info is flooding in, as I predicted.

Here’s the latest:

10/ Again, for ease of reference, here's a link to my original story about two of Judge Cannon's clerks departing prematurely from their clerkships (which I continue to update in real time, as more info comes in):

bit.ly/3TqQVRE