{"id":156955,"date":"2026-07-16T05:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/16\/kentucky-law-professor-sues-to-stop-new-dean-and-every-federal-judge-already-recused\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:40:16","slug":"kentucky-law-professor-sues-to-stop-new-dean-and-every-federal-judge-already-recused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/16\/kentucky-law-professor-sues-to-stop-new-dean-and-every-federal-judge-already-recused\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Law Professor Sues To Stop New Dean And Every Federal Judge Already Recused"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kentucky Law dean fight has reached the stage where somebody sues. Back in April, the whole mess was already a dumpster fire<\/a> as a \u201csubstantial majority of the faculty\u201d told those running the dean search that Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove was an unacceptable candidate, lacking the academic bona fides required by the school\u2019s own rules. The university hired him anyway, and then spent a news cycle explaining that a federal judge\u2019s opinions are a kind<\/em> of scholarship because Sixth Circuit reviews are sort of<\/em> like peer review.<\/p>\n

It was\u2026 not convincing.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Professor Ramsi Woodcock filed suit in the Eastern District of Kentucky to stop the appointment. That is, of course, the court that Judge Van Tatenhove departs to take the Kentucky deanship. After swift recusals from the rest of the district bench, the case has been temporarily assigned to Jeffrey Sutton \u2014 the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit \u2014 for reassignment.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a fitting irony that the validity of the university\u2019s spin that \u201chundreds of [Van Tatenhove\u2019s] judicial opinions have been effectively peer-reviewed by the Sixth Circuit with an affirmation rate above 80%,\u201d has now landed at the Sixth Circuit.<\/p>\n

Woodcock\u2019s primary argument is a First Amendment expressive association claim, and the association in question is peer review itself:<\/p>\n

\n

The competence of no other professional is derivative of his association with other professionals in this way. A football player may be just as good at tackling whether he has been picked for the team or not. A surgeon may be just as good at surgery whether he is licensed or not. If the football player is cut or the surgeon deprived of his license, he is merely prevented from practicing his art. But a scholar stripped of membership in a community of scholars stops being able to perform at all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Because a dean evaluates faculty scholarship, the argument runs, installing a dean the faculty deemed unqualified to evaluate scholarship \u201cdilutes\u201d the faculty\u2019s collective message that their work is peer reviewed. Woodcock goes further, arguing that he\u2019s actually compelled to broadcast the opposite<\/em> message every time he uploads a paper to SSRN.<\/p>\n

Woodcock is currently suspended from teaching for other reasons. A UK spokesperson responded to this filing<\/a> by saying, \u201cInterestingly, if Professor Woodcock had spent his time responding to the serious allegations regarding his conduct in a timely manner, rather than filing frivolous lawsuits without merit, his case would have long since been resolved.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not for nothing, but when an official statement digs into the bitchy bag for an \u201cinterestingly\u201d like that, it suggests a litigant more interested in distractions than substance.<\/p>\n

The professor also brings a tortious interference claim based upon provisions in his contract requiring adherence to ABA accreditation standards \u2014 which prohibit a law school from hiring a dean over faculty objection:<\/p>\n

\n

The American Bar Association (ABA), which accredits the law school, prohibits the appointment of a dean over the objection of the faculty. ABA Standards Interp. 203-1, Ex. 19. The ABA further requires that a dean be a tenured member of the faculty. Id<\/em>. at Standard 203(b). In effective acknowledgment of Van Tatenhove\u2019s lack of a scholarly record, the University has said that it will not put Van Tatenhove up for tenure. Ex. 14 at 7. The ABA provides an exception to these rules for \u201cgood cause\u201d or in \u201cextraordinary circumstances\u201d. Ex. 19. But the faculty approved three other University-selected finalists who, unlike Van Tatenhove, met the qualification for the dean role and on information and belief the University did not make offers to any of them before selecting Van Tatenhove. Ex. 8; Woodcock Decl. \u00b6 22. (One of the other finalists has said that she would have accepted an offer. Ex. 28.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s the \u201cextraordinary circumstance\u201d here? Well, it won\u2019t be the university\u2019s official position, but it\u2019s who the partisan powers-that-be wanted<\/em> seems to be the answer. Republican politicians praised the appointment of Van Tatenhove, a former Mitch McConnell aide, while the governor has thrown side eye on the decision<\/a>. University administration removed the potential stumbling block of the faculty senate, having dissolved the council permanently in 2024 \u2014 a move generally reserved for the Emperor from Star Wars<\/em>. The rules had also been designed to strip the board of trustees of hiring authority, vesting it instead in the administrators. That rule has since been changed because of this hiring<\/a>. Everything leading up to the selection was set up to vest decision making in the fewest \u2014 and most easily lobbied \u2014 hands possible.<\/p>\n

As for the problems this might cause with the ABA accreditation process, DiPaola told a committee meeting it would be \u201ca number of years before we\u2019re reviewed again by the ABA<\/a>.\u201d Yes, the \u201cmeh, we\u2019ve got a long time until the cops even notice\u201d defense never fails. Though maybe they\u2019re banking on a future Republican governor joining other states in rejecting ABA accreditation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Which is probably how this ends, with the state of Kentucky recusing itself right out of the ABA\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Kentucky Law School\u2019s Dean Fight Is A Dumpster Fire<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Kentucky Law Professor Sues To Stop New Dean And Every Federal Judge Already Recused<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Kentucky Law dean fight has reached the stage where somebody sues. Back in April, the whole mess was already a dumpster fire<\/a> as a \u201csubstantial majority of the faculty\u201d told those running the dean search that Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove was an unacceptable candidate, lacking the academic bona fides required by the school\u2019s own rules. The university hired him anyway, and then spent a news cycle explaining that a federal judge\u2019s opinions are a kind<\/em> of scholarship because Sixth Circuit reviews are sort of<\/em> like peer review.<\/p>\n

It was\u2026 not convincing.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Professor Ramsi Woodcock filed suit in the Eastern District of Kentucky to stop the appointment. That is, of course, the court that Judge Van Tatenhove departs to take the Kentucky deanship. After swift recusals from the rest of the district bench, the case has been temporarily assigned to Jeffrey Sutton \u2014 the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit \u2014 for reassignment.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a fitting irony that the validity of the university\u2019s spin that \u201chundreds of [Van Tatenhove\u2019s] judicial opinions have been effectively peer-reviewed by the Sixth Circuit with an affirmation rate above 80%,\u201d has now landed at the Sixth Circuit.<\/p>\n

Woodcock\u2019s primary argument is a First Amendment expressive association claim, and the association in question is peer review itself:<\/p>\n

\n

The competence of no other professional is derivative of his association with other professionals in this way. A football player may be just as good at tackling whether he has been picked for the team or not. A surgeon may be just as good at surgery whether he is licensed or not. If the football player is cut or the surgeon deprived of his license, he is merely prevented from practicing his art. But a scholar stripped of membership in a community of scholars stops being able to perform at all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Because a dean evaluates faculty scholarship, the argument runs, installing a dean the faculty deemed unqualified to evaluate scholarship \u201cdilutes\u201d the faculty\u2019s collective message that their work is peer reviewed. Woodcock goes further, arguing that he\u2019s actually compelled to broadcast the opposite<\/em> message every time he uploads a paper to SSRN.<\/p>\n

Woodcock is currently suspended from teaching for other reasons. A UK spokesperson responded to this filing<\/a> by saying, \u201cInterestingly, if Professor Woodcock had spent his time responding to the serious allegations regarding his conduct in a timely manner, rather than filing frivolous lawsuits without merit, his case would have long since been resolved.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not for nothing, but when an official statement digs into the bitchy bag for an \u201cinterestingly\u201d like that, it suggests a litigant more interested in distractions than substance.<\/p>\n

The professor also brings a tortious interference claim based upon provisions in his contract requiring adherence to ABA accreditation standards \u2014 which prohibit a law school from hiring a dean over faculty objection:<\/p>\n

\n

The American Bar Association (ABA), which accredits the law school, prohibits the appointment of a dean over the objection of the faculty. ABA Standards Interp. 203-1, Ex. 19. The ABA further requires that a dean be a tenured member of the faculty. Id<\/em>. at Standard 203(b). In effective acknowledgment of Van Tatenhove\u2019s lack of a scholarly record, the University has said that it will not put Van Tatenhove up for tenure. Ex. 14 at 7. The ABA provides an exception to these rules for \u201cgood cause\u201d or in \u201cextraordinary circumstances\u201d. Ex. 19. But the faculty approved three other University-selected finalists who, unlike Van Tatenhove, met the qualification for the dean role and on information and belief the University did not make offers to any of them before selecting Van Tatenhove. Ex. 8; Woodcock Decl. \u00b6 22. (One of the other finalists has said that she would have accepted an offer. Ex. 28.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s the \u201cextraordinary circumstance\u201d here? Well, it won\u2019t be the university\u2019s official position, but it\u2019s who the partisan powers-that-be wanted<\/em> seems to be the answer. Republican politicians praised the appointment of Van Tatenhove, a former Mitch McConnell aide, while the governor has thrown side eye on the decision<\/a>. University administration removed the potential stumbling block of the faculty senate, having dissolved the council permanently in 2024 \u2014 a move generally reserved for the Emperor from Star Wars<\/em>. The rules had also been designed to strip the board of trustees of hiring authority, vesting it instead in the administrators. That rule has since been changed because of this hiring<\/a>. Everything leading up to the selection was set up to vest decision making in the fewest \u2014 and most easily lobbied \u2014 hands possible.<\/p>\n

As for the problems this might cause with the ABA accreditation process, DiPaola told a committee meeting it would be \u201ca number of years before we\u2019re reviewed again by the ABA<\/a>.\u201d Yes, the \u201cmeh, we\u2019ve got a long time until the cops even notice\u201d defense never fails. Though maybe they\u2019re banking on a future Republican governor joining other states in rejecting ABA accreditation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Which is probably how this ends, with the state of Kentucky recusing itself right out of the ABA\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Kentucky Law School\u2019s Dean Fight Is A Dumpster Fire<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Kentucky Law Professor Sues To Stop New Dean And Every Federal Judge Already Recused<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kentucky Law dean fight has reached the stage where somebody sues. Back in April, the whole mess was already a dumpster fire as a \u201csubstantial majority of the faculty\u201d told those running the dean search that Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove was an unacceptable candidate, lacking the academic bona fides required by the school\u2019s own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Headshot-300x200-Xt3HVG.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}