Please join us in celebrating two of our James Wilson Fellowship Alumni who have recently received incredible honors. Judge Jordan Pratt (JWI '14) was nominated by President Trump to serve as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of Florida, and Daniel Vitagliano (JWI '20) accepted a clerkship for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States.

"We are thrilled to hear of Daniel's clerkship and Jordan's nomination," remarked JWI Co-Director Gerry Bradley. "With these two advancing in their careers, we can be sure the future of American jurisprudence is bright."

A Florida native, Judge Jordan Pratt was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2023 to serve as a member of the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals. He was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida by President Trump earlier this year. In his post on Truth Social, the President noted that “Jordan is tenacious, smart, and a Great American Patriot. I am confident he will do a tremendous job serving the fantastic people of Florida.” We could not agree more!

During his time with us in 2014, Jordan left this telling testimonial of how the lessons he learned in the Fellowship impacted his view of the role of the Natural Law. “Today’s jurists and politicians have largely forgotten the art of their trade…I learned that they can strengthen the rule of law by explaining how it is rooted in timeless principles accessible to all people.”

Jordan joins Zachary Bluestone (JWI ’17) as a nominee for the federal bench. With Judge Cory Liu (JWI ’21), Jordan is one of two total alumni who are sitting judges at the state level.

Daniel Vitagliano is the sixth James Wilson Fellow to clerk for the Supreme Court. He joins Brittney Lane Kubisch (‘15) and Daniel Shapiro (‘21), who both clerked for Justice Thomas; Ben Cassady (‘15) clerked with Justice Samuel Alito; Tim Bradley (‘19) clerked for Justice Amy Coney Barrett; and Evelyn Blacklock (‘20), who clerked for Chief Justice Roberts.

“I am immensely honored and grateful to be selected for a clerkship with Justice Thomas.” Noted Daniel, in reflecting on this exciting opportunity. “The James Wilson Fellowship was a formative experience where I gained a deep understanding of Natural Law principles and their role in constitutional adjudication.” Daniel is scheduled to begin his clerkship with Justice Thomas in 2027.

As Professor Arkes noted, “These are two steps that will lift the quality of our law, in the near term and the far. Jordan will be a deep asset for the bench and Dan may renew whatever spark of Natural Law still glows in Justice Thomas’s chambers.”