The Pursuit of Truth — Even When It Means Standing Alone | Judge James Ho’s Constitution Day Address

Judge James Ho on today’s cultural elites, truth-seeking, and the courage to stand alone.

James C. Ho is a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before taking the bench on January 4, 2018, he was co-chair of the national Appellate and Constitutional Law practice group and partner in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

This address was delivered at UATX on September 15, 2026. Introductions by UATX President Carlos Carvalho and The Federalist Society President and CEO Sheldon Gilbert.

00:00 — UATX student Max Weinstein performs the national anthem
01:52 — Welcome: Constitution Day and UATX's third academic year
04:02 — An $11 million gift to launch UATX's law program
06:39 — Sheldon Gilbert: "A republic, if you can keep it"
10:07 — Introducing Judge James Ho
12:33 — Judge Ho: three decades in FedSoc
14:53 — Why Judge Ho supports UATX
16:58 — Will Americans prove the Anti-Federalists right?
19:12 — “We don't disagree, we destroy"
20:14 — Elena Kagan's advice: "Don't do it"
22:02 — The cost of standing alone
23:56 — Clarence Thomas and the solo dissent
25:42 — Originalism
27:15 — If we're all originalists, why the controversy?
29:10 — Working the refs: judges, umpires, and the booing crowd
30:45 — Unanimity, and the lure of the inner ring
32:38 — Why Judge Ho stopped hiring clerks from top law schools
35:32 — “Duty is ours, results are God's"
37:52 — Q&A: Where do originalists disagree with each other?
40:16 — Q&A: What if only a few people stand up?
43:09 — Q&A: Advice for a conservative at a liberal university
46:36 — Q&A: How do you find north without a compass?
50:43 — Q&A: Is unanimity on the Court worth pursuing?
52:31 — Q&A: Judges striking down executive orders
54:18 — Q&A: Weren't the Anti-Federalists right?
56:47 — Q&A: What's the alternative to originalism?

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Judge Ho's prepared remarks:

Thanks so much for that kind introduction. I’m profoundly honored to deliver your Constitution Day address this year.[….]

I’ve been a member of the Federalist Society for three decades. I started law school the fall of 1996.

I realize that, for many of you in this room, 1996 might as well be 1896. 1996 was certainly long before it was cool to be a member of the Federalist Society.

Now, some of you might say that it’s not cool today, either. And who knows—I might even agree with you.

But cool or not, I couldn’t hide my affiliation with the Federalist Society if I tried.

During the first Trump Administration, Senator Durbin routinely asked federal judicial nominees to state, in writing, how many of the Society’s annual conferences we’ve ever attended.

My answer was simple: All of them. Every one since law school.

Now, I think I was supposed to be embarrassed to say that. But I was happy to say it.

And I’m happy to be here today for the same reason: Because I’m excited about our country—about our Constitution—and about the University of Austin.

* * *

So much of what inspires me about our Constitution is also what inspires me about this campus.

And by the same token, so much of what concerns me about how cultural elites treat our Constitution mirrors my concerns about how they treat higher education.

Whether it’s the Constitution or higher education, we should all be dedicated to one thing—the pursuit of truth.

And that means we must be dedicated to maintaining the necessary preconditions for pursuing truth.

It means that we need intellectual honesty, rigor, and the freedom to speak, if we’re going to be able to pursue the truth, at all times, and at all costs, no matter where it leads us—and regardless of whether the answer is politically correct, or politically controversial.

That’s why Allyson and I are pleased to be strong supporters, and founding donors, to the University of Austin. Because we share your concerns about the direction of higher education in America. And we view the University of Austin as one of the N