Judge Reyes
Appearances
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
I mean, if I called you a liar, would you find that demeaning?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
Okay, you don't know if you can tell me that categorizing an entire group of people as dishonorable, lying, undisciplined, whether at work or at home, so you can't tell me sitting here today on behalf of the government whether someone would consider that demeaning?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
Quote, a man's assertion that he is a woman and his requirement that others honor this falsehood is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required for a service member. End quote. What's the record and the evidence? What's the evidence in the record before me to support this assertion?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
What about lacking integrity? Can you at least give me lacking integrity? Anyone with common sense would say that being called someone who lacks integrity, people who have sworn to take an oath, who have sworn an oath to defend the country with their lives, would you consider that to be, as a commonsensical manner, demeaning? Or you can't even say that?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
Would it be fair to say that excluding a group of people from military service based on unsupported assertions that they are liars, immodest, lack integrity, are undisciplined, and are dishonorable, would you agree with me that particularly where there is no support for any of those assertions, that that is animated by animus?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
I want to know whether this executive order signed by the President of the United States, who calls an entire category of people dishonest, dishonorable, undisciplined, immodest, who lack integrity, people who have taken an oath to defend this country, people who have been under fire, people who have received medals for taking fire for this country, I want to know from the government whether that language expresses animus.
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
You know, you're a lawyer. You know how important integrity is to your profession, right?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
All right. I made standing orders when I was in the back. My new standing orders say that no one who has graduated from UVA Law School can appear before me. So I need you to sit down, please. I need you to sit down.
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
And the reason I don't want people from UVA Law School appearing before me is because, for no reason I'm going to give you, I think they're all liars and lack integrity and are undisciplined and can't possibly meet the high rigors of being a lawyer for the government. Now, if I actually had that standing order, would that be demeaning? Come back up. To people from UVA Law School?
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
If you want to get me an officer of the United States military who's willing to get on the stand and say that because of pronoun usage, the U.S. military is less prepared than it needs to be, I will be the first to give you a box of cigars. You have until you have 10 days to find me a person, find a declarant, anyone who's a commissioned officer to get on the stand and say that.
This American Life
857: Museum of Now
And I'm going to want them on the stand, not just in writing. All right.