Legal Commentary

A (female) Harvard 3L sent another student an email stating, among other things:

I absolutely do not rule out the possibility that African Americans are, on average, genetically predisposed to be less intelligent. I could also obviously be convinced that by controlling for the right variables, we would see that they are, in fact, as intelligent as white people under the same circumstances. The fact is, some things are genetic. African Americans tend to have darker skin. Irish people are more likely to have red hair.

This email was then forwarded to Black Law Student Associations around the country with the author's name attached.  Now there is a movement afoot to try to get the author's federal clerkship offer revoked.  The whole story is now on Huffington Post and Above the Law, which has the full email with surrounding context.  Arguably, the context makes the paragraph from the email quoted above sound worse rather than better. 

It is hard to even know where to begin to comment on this development.  I am by no means shocked that there are highly educated people in this country with ignorant racial attitudes.  I wish I were.  I am a little shocked by the complete lack of judgment of the Harvard 3L.  Interestingly, the email was signed with the request "Please don't pull a Larry Summers on me."  I am certain that the person who received the email was personally offended and even horrified by the antediluvian racial sentiments of the author, but it still seems like a breach of trust to have forwarded the email all over the country.  Was the forwarder justified under the circumstances? You tell me.