Summary

What if disagreement could actually unite us? Judge Thomas Griffith, former DC Circuit Court judge, joins us to explore the Constitution’s genius: its embrace of disagreement as a path to the common good. Judge Griffith shares personal stories from his judicial career, including his bipartisan support for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and dispels the myth of “partisans in robes.” He challenges listeners to defend the Constitution through humility, compromise, and local action, and offers hope for those discouraged by political division.

About Our Guest

Judge Thomas B. Griffith was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by President George W. Bush in 2005, and served until his retirement in 2020. He is currently a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, a Fellow at the Wheatley Institute, and Special Counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth. He is also engaged in rule of law initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Earlier in his career, Judge Griffith served as General Counsel of Brigham Young University and as Senate Legal Counsel, the nonpartisan chief legal officer of the U.S. Senate. In 2021, President Biden appointed him to the President’s Commission on the Supreme Court. He is also a co-author of Lost, Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Biden Won and Trump Lost the 2020 Presidential Election. 

He holds a BA from Brigham Young University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Useful Links

Judge Griffith's Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_B._Griffith

Braver Angels – Bridging Political Divides Through Civil Discourse:

https://braverangels.org

Judge Griffith's Letter in Support of Justice Jackson:

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2.26.22%20-%20Judge%20Thomas%20Griffith%20Support%20for%20Jackson.pdf

Judge Griffith's 2012 Speech at BYU, "The Hard Work of Understanding the Constitution":

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/thomas-b-griffith/the-hard-work-of-understanding-the-constitution/

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