An associate diversity, equity, and inclusion dean at Stanford Law School has resigned, months after getting placed on leave for accosting a Trump-appointed judge who was being heckled by students.
In a statement published on Thursday, Stanford Law Dean Jenny Martinez said Tirien Steinbach was leaving “to pursue another opportunity.”
The incident took place when Judge Kyle Duncan, who sits on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, asked her to step in when students began heckling him.
Instead, she joined in.
“I'm uncomfortable because this event is tearing up the fabric of this community that I care about and I'm here to support," she said during the event hosted by the school’s Federalist Society. "And I ... have to ask myself and I'm not a cynic to ask this, is the juice worth the squeeze? Is this worth it? ... For many people in this law school who work here, who study here and who live here, your advocacy, your opinions from the bench land as absolute disenfranchisement of their rights..."
2/ The Judge had words for the students during the Q&A session:
— Thinker of Thoughts (@totastuff) March 12, 2023
"You complain about people like me... "denying your rights," or "erasing your existence,"...and then you turn right around and do the same damn thing to somebody else! ... You're a bunch of hypocrites." pic.twitter.com/DDVNApo6pz
In her statement, Martinez said she and Steinbach hope the law school “can move forward as a community from the divisions caused by the March 9 event. The event presented significant challenges for the administration, the students and the entire law school community.”
Stanford Law announces Tirien Steinbach will leave her post, months after she appeared to facilitate a shoutdown of a 5th Circuit judge, leading Stanford to overhaul its free speech practices. pic.twitter.com/WkOIFpDEgx
— Alex Morey (@1AMorey) July 20, 2023