Federal judge who retired in protest warns Brandeis forum of attacks on democracy

Brandeis Stories

Federal judge who retired in protest warns Brandeis forum of attacks on democracy

By Steve Foskett
March 23, 2026

At a campus forum last week, Mark Wolf, a federal judge who resigned from the bench in November after being compelled to speak out against current assaults on the rule of law, told Professor Anita Hill and the audience that despite the feeling that the foundations of U.S. democracy are crumbling, he sees signs of optimism in the collective action of ordinary citizens.

"Everything I do, or try to do, is with others," Wolf said. "A lot of people are asking, 'what can I do?' I think the better framing of the question is, 'what can we do?'"

Hill, the University and David R. Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy at the Heller School, hosted a community "fireside chat" with Wolf Wednesday evening in Schwartz Hall to discuss actions taken by the Trump administration that have signaled a fundamental shift in the role of the executive branch in America.

Who is Judge Mark Wolf?

Wolf was appointed to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts in 1985, and served as its chief judge from 2006 to 2012. He previously served in the Department of Justice as a special assistant to both the deputy attorney general and attorney general in the final months of the Richard M. Nixon administration and then in the administration of President Gerald Ford.

Why did Wolf retire?

He outlined his reasoning for relinquishing his lifetime appointment in The Atlantic in November, and reiterated his motivations at the forum on Wednesday before an audience of more than 400 people, both in-person and watching remotely.

"The continuous abuse of the Department of Justice and the threat to the rule of law, to American democracy and to our ideal of equal justice under law eventually became intolerable to me," Wolf said.

He said that he witnessed early in his career, particularly in the wake of the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon's resignation, a commitment by the Department of Justice to not use the law as an "instrument of partisan purpose."

"President Trump has been doing exactly the opposite," Wolf said. "Literally, I would say, since the first day of his administration, directing his attorney general to pursue, to persecute his perceived political enemies and not to investigate, prosecute, or achieve the punishment of people close to him politically, or the people enriching him and his family."

Hill asked Wolf if it was one or two particular cases or incidents that finally caused him to retire so he could speak out, or if it was just a "constant drip."

"Well, it wasn't drips," Wolf said. "It was waves."

What is the role of the federal trial courts?

Hill and Wolf agreed that the district courts where "facts are found" have quietly, and not-so-quietly, played an important role as the Trump administration adopts a more expansive view of executive authority. They also acknowledged that those decisions have often been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court when cases appeared on the court's emergency docket or "shadow docket."

"They're not getting the deference, but I think they're getting appreciation from a lot of people who read about these decisions and say there is hope that there will be different resolutions for these conflicts that we have," Hill said. "And it seems to me too that when we think about the moment that we're in now, and we realize that there is very, very little confidence in the Supreme Court's decisions, people really presume that they're always going to decide with the president. When we're at that moment, you have a sense that even though they may be overturned, they still have a significant role in helping people understand the rule of law."

How do young people and college students get involved to support democracy and the rule of law?

Wolf said mentors can be powerful role models who influence young people, but that flows in the other direction, too.

"Younger people can hold their elders to a higher standard," he said. "They can refresh their idealism, and give us hope for the future. Because why fight for the rule of law? Why try to preserve democracy except for younger generations? I feel that very powerfully."

He said he has also been heartened by effective protests, citing Minnesota anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activism. He said people were outraged about the federal agency's presence, and about the shooting deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, so "they went out every day and they took some risks."

The protests and public reaction led to ICE drastically reducing the size of its operations there, Wolf said.

"Think about what you can do," he said. "Think about what you have the capacity to do, and think about where to do it."