Latest news with #judicialconduct
Reuters
4 days ago
- General
- Reuters
US judge warns that law clerk hiring boycotts may cross ethical lines
May 30 (Reuters) - Law clerk hiring boycotts, like the type launched by 13 conservative federal judges last year in protest of Columbia University's handling of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations on its campus, may "cross an important line," a top federal appeals court judge concluded. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Steven Colloton reached that conclusion, opens new tab even as he dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint filed with the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit Judicial Council against one of those 13 judges, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor in Bismarck, North Dakota. A five-member panel of the 8th Circuit Judicial Council on Thursday voted to deny a petition to review Colloton's now-public decision. Traynor like the other judges who participated in the boycott was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump during his first term. Colloton said that when Traynor signed the letter, there was no ethical guidance suggesting that such a hiring boycott was forbidden. Traynor was not identified by name in the decision, but he is the only of the 13 judges at issue within the 8th Circuit's jurisdiction. The person who filed the complaint was also not named. Traynor declined to comment. Similar misconduct complaints have been dismissed against the other 12, with chief judges in other circuits concluding that the hiring boycott announced in a May 2024 letter did not constitute misconduct, Colloton noted. Given those circumstances, Colloton said it would be unfair to hold that Traynor's participation in the boycott constituted misconduct under the Code of Conduct for U.S. judges without him having fair notice in advance that it was forbidden. But Colloton, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, expressed concern about such boycotts, saying they "have the potential to embroil the judiciary in extrajudicial public controversies and to lower public confidence in the courts among reasonable people." "There is thus a substantial question whether judges cross an important line when they go beyond expressing their personal views in an effort to persuade and begin using their power as government officials to pressure private institutions to conform to the judges' preferences," Colloton wrote. He said the issue was one that may be appropriate for study by members of the U.S. Judicial Conference body tasked with revising and interpreting the Code of Conduct. In their letter last year, the Trump-appointed judges had called Columbia an "incubator of bigotry" and argued for "serious consequences" for anyone who participated in the campus demonstrations over Israel's war in Gaza that roiled Columbia's campus. They said Columbia had "become ground zero for the explosion of student disruptions, antisemitism, and hatred for diverse viewpoints on campuses across the nation" and had "disqualified itself from educating the future leaders of our country." As a result, the judges had said they would not hire anyone who attended Columbia as an undergraduate or law student, beginning with students who began their studies at the university in fall 2023. The letter's other signatories included U.S. Circuit Judges James Ho of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Elizabeth Branch of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who participated in similar boycotts of clerks from Yale and Stanford over disruptions of conservative speakers on their campuses. Read more: Trump-appointed judge cleared of wrongdoing over Columbia law clerk boycott US judge boycotting Columbia law clerks won't recuse from protest case US judges cleared of misconduct over Columbia clerk hiring boycott US judiciary to consider new ethical guidance for law clerk hiring Group urges US judiciary to halt conservative judges' clerk boycotts US law clerks in rare anonymous statement decry 'genocide' in Gaza Columbia Law voices confidence in grads in face of conservative judges' boycott Conservative US judges boycott Columbia grads over campus Gaza protests
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Wisconsin Supreme Court suspends judge who left court to arrest a hospitalized defendant
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a Dane County judge for a week Tuesday for leaving court to try to arrest a hospitalized defendant herself and getting into a sarcastic exchange with another defendant seeking a trial delay. The court agreed with a judicial conduct review panel's suspension recommendation for Ellen Berz, finding that she deserved more than a reprimand because she behaved impulsively and showed a lack of restraint. The suspension will begin June 26, the court ordered. "We believe that the recommended seven-day suspension is of sufficient length to impress upon Judge Berz the necessity of patience, impartiality, and restraint in her work, and to demonstrate to the public the judiciary's dedication to promoting professionalism among its members," the justices wrote in the suspension order. Justice Jill Karofsky, herself a former Dane County judge, did not participate in the case. The suspension order noted that Berz has acknowledged the facts of the case and has accepted full responsibility. Andrew Rima, one of two attorneys for Berz listed in online court records, declined to comment. Her other attorney, Steven Caya, didn't immediately respond to an email. Berz is the second Wisconsin judge that the state Supreme Court has suspended in the last five weeks. The justices suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan indefinitely on April 29 after federal prosecutors accused her of helping a man evade U.S. immigration agents by showing him out a back door in her courtroom. A federal grand jury has indicted Dugan on one count of obstruction and one count of concealing a person to prevent arrest. She has pleaded not guilty and is set to stand trial in July. The Wisconsin Judicial Commission filed a misconduct complaint against Berz, the Dane County judge, in October, accusing her of failing to promote public confidence in judicial impartiality, failing to treat people professionally and failing to perform her duties without bias. According to the complaint, Berz was presiding over an operating-while-intoxicated case in December 2021. The defendant didn't show up in court on the day the trial was set to begin. His attorney told Berz that the defendant had been admitted to a hospital. Berz had a staff member investigate and learned that he was in a Sun Prairie emergency room. The judge ordered her bailiff to go arrest him, but was told the bailiff couldn't leave the courthouse. She declared that she would retrieve the defendant herself, and if something happened to her, people would hear about it on the news, according to the complaint. She then left court and began driving to the emergency room with the defendant's attorney in the passenger seat, the complaint says. No prosecutor was present in the vehicle. She eventually turned around after the defense attorney warned her that traveling to the hospital was a bad idea because she was supposed to be the neutral decision-maker in the case, according to the complaint. She went back into court and issued a warrant for the defendant's arrest. The complaint also alleges she told a defendant in a child sexual assault case who had asked to delay his trial for a second time that he was playing games and should "go to the prison and talk to them about all the games you can play." When the defendant said her sarcasm was clear, she told him: "Good. I thought it would be. That's why I'm saying it to you that way, because I thought you would relate with that."
Associated Press
7 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Wisconsin Supreme Court suspends judge who left court to arrest a hospitalized defendant
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a Dane County judge for a week Tuesday for leaving court to try to arrest a hospitalized defendant herself and getting into a sarcastic exchange with another defendant seeking a trial delay. The court agreed with a judicial conduct review panel's suspension recommendation for Ellen Berz, finding that she deserved more than a reprimand because she behaved impulsively and showed a lack of restraint. The suspension will begin June 26, the court ordered. 'We believe that the recommended seven-day suspension is of sufficient length to impress upon Judge Berz the necessity of patience, impartiality, and restraint in her work, and to demonstrate to the public the judiciary's dedication to promoting professionalism among its members,' the justices wrote in the suspension order. Justice Jill Karofsky, herself a former Dane County judge, did not participate in the case. The suspension order noted that Berz has acknowledged the facts of the case and has accepted full responsibility. Andrew Rima, one of two attorneys for Berz listed in online court records, declined to comment. Her other attorney, Steven Caya, didn't immediately respond to an email. Berz is the second Wisconsin judge that the state Supreme Court has suspended in the last five weeks. The justices suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan indefinitely on April 29 after federal prosecutors accused her of helping a man evade U.S. immigration agents by showing him out a back door in her courtroom. A federal grand jury has indicted Dugan on one count of obstruction and one count of concealing a person to prevent arrest. She has pleaded not guilty and is set to stand trial in July. The Wisconsin Judicial Commission filed a misconduct complaint against Berz, the Dane County judge, in October accusing her of failing to promote public confidence in judicial impartiality, failing to treat people unprofessionally, and failing to performing her duties without bias. According to the complaint, Berz was presiding over an operating-while-intoxicated case in December 2021. The defendant didn't show up in court on the day the trial was set to begin. His attorney told Berz that the defendant had been admitted to a hospital. Berz had a staff member investigate and learned that he was in a Sun Prairie emergency room. The judge ordered her bailiff to go arrest him, but was told the bailiff couldn't leave the courthouse. She declared that she would retrieve the defendant herself, and if something happened to her, people would hear about it on the news, according to the complaint. She then left court and began driving to the emergency room with the defendant's attorney in the passenger seat, the complaint says. No prosecutor was present in the vehicle. She eventually turned around after the defense attorney warned her that traveling to the hospital was a bad idea because she was supposed to be the neutral decision-maker in the case, according to the complaint. She went back into court and issued a warrant for the defendant's arrest. The complaint also alleges she told a defendant in a child sexual assault case who had asked to delay his trial for a second time that he was playing games and should 'go to the prison and talk to them about all the games you can play.' When the defendant said her sarcasm was clear, she told him: 'Good. I thought it would be. That's why I'm saying it to you that way, because I thought you would relate with that.'
Mail & Guardian
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Judicial tribunal forces legal community to rethink sexual harassment
Being screened: Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge is appearing before a judicial conduct tribunal on sexual harrassment charges. Experts say sexual harassment remains pervasive in South Africa's legal system, especially among candidate attorneys and court secretaries This content is restricted to subscribers only . Join the M&G Community Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently. Subscription enables: - M&G community membership - independent journalism - access to all premium articles & features - a digital version of the weekly newspaper - invites to subscriber-only events - the opportunity to test new online features first Already a subscriber?
Mail & Guardian
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Mbenenge tribunal postponed as lawyers argue relevance of gender expert
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. (Nelius Rademan/ Foto24/Gallo Images) The tribunal hearing on the Mbenenge was due to take the stand this week before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal to help determine whether he is guilty of gross misconduct as a high ranking judicial official. In the matter being heard before Judge Bernard Ngoepe, lawyers could not agree on whether gender expert Lisa Vetten should testify at this stage of the inquiry. After a brief debate Ngoepe decided to allow Vetten to testify, although evidence leader Salome Scheepers admitted she had not received a summary report from the expert for the respondent to prepare. Ngoepe said he would allow all sides to be heard even though it might take more time than initially expected. 'We are of the view that, rather err on the side of caution; rather allow evidence even though there's argument about its relevance, allow it nevertheless to be given,' he said. After extended discussions in Ngoepe's chambers on whether Mbenenge's counsel would still call him to the witness stand, the postponement was announced. Chris Oxtoby, a research consultant for Freedom Under Law, said Vetten's evidence would be relevant to ' He told the Mail and Guardian that 'It seems probable that he will argue that his interactions with the complainant were consensual. It also appears that he will deny some of the events, such as the allegation that he exposed himself to the complainant, and also that Muzi Sikhakhane, SC, for Mbenenge, had argued during the first sitting of the tribunal in January that Mengo In his ruling Ngoepe said he would allow Vetten to testify because he was confident that if the testimony proved irrelevant, Mbenenge's counsel would deal with it accordingly. Sanja Bornman, a gender law and policy specialist at Thusa Consulting, said the tribunal has been lengthy and 'very formal with an atmosphere not always conducive to best evidence in sensitive cases like sexual harassment'. Bornman told the M&G that sexual harassment is not an ordinary misconduct and to create 'a truly victim-friendly process that permits innovative protective measures for a complainant' may require an amendment of the rules. 'We have heard much about the power dynamics at play in this matter, and it is in the interest of justice to fully explore the socio-cultural and other factors that inform a person's power and ability to consent, or not, to sexual intimacy in a workplace context,' she said. Oxtoby noted that although the case sets an important example that complaints of misconduct will be taken seriously, even if found guilty this did not necessarily mean Mbenenge would be impeached. Bornman said although the tribunal will not create legal precedent as such, its findings will send an important message to the legal profession, the judiciary in particular, and the public at large. 'Whatever that message turns out to be remains to be seen, and it will undoubtedly be the subject of analysis for a long time to come,' she said.
