The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that a judge step aside in a case concerning Georgia election records. This request is based on the judge’s participation in an event honoring Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who prosecuted former President Donald Trump. The Justice Department questions the judge’s impartiality due to this association.
Recent Judicial Reprimand
A federal judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit recently faced a “private reprimand” after an investigation revealed several misconducts. These included having sex in the courthouse with a police officer, attending a partisan event, and initially denying these allegations. The investigation did not publicly name the judge or specify the court location within the jurisdiction, which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. However, media reports identified U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta as the judge involved. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed this, and Judge Ross’s chambers declined to comment.
Federal Judges and Disciplinary Actions
Federal judges, appointed for life, can face disciplinary actions such as censure or reprimands. They can only be removed through Congressional impeachment. Judge Eleanor Ross was nominated by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2014. She previously served as a state court judge in DeKalb County and worked as a prosecutor in Atlanta for over ten years.
The Election Records Dispute
Judge Ross is overseeing a case filed by the Justice Department against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The department seeks statewide voter lists. Raffensperger argues that Georgia law restricts the release of confidential voter information without meeting specific conditions. He provided the public portion of the voter roll to the Justice Department last December. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, but the Justice Department has requested a delay due to their motion for the judge’s recusal.
Judicial Disciplinary Proceedings
In February, the 11th Circuit Judicial Council decided on a private reprimand for the unnamed judge. The Judicial Conference of the United States affirmed this decision in May. The judge attended a district attorney’s campaign event, which was deemed inappropriate by the investigative committee.
Judge Ross previously worked in the Fulton County district attorney’s office, coinciding with Willis before she became district attorney.
The 2020 Georgia Election Investigation
Fani Willis began investigating potential interference in the 2020 election after becoming district attorney. This included a phone call where Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” votes to overturn Biden’s victory. In August 2023, Willis secured an indictment against Trump and others for alleged schemes to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. However, the case was dismissed in November due to an “appearance of impropriety” linked to Willis’s relationship with an outside lawyer leading the prosecution.
Justice Department’s Position
The Justice Department filed that a judge attending a celebration for a Democrat known for prosecuting a Republican President should not preside over a related case. They argued that any reasonable observer would perceive Judge Ross’s presence at the event as endorsement. This creates an appearance of bias, necessitating her recusal.
The filing briefly mentions the judge’s alleged improper conduct with a police officer but states those issues are not the motion’s focus. Additionally, the Atlanta Police Department is investigating whether the involved police officer belongs to their department.