Judicial Conference OKs New Rules on Complaints

The Judicial Conference today unanimously adopted the first-ever binding procedures for handling judicial misconduct complaints.

Responding to pressure from Congress and others for greater consistency, the conference — the policy-making arm of the federal judiciary — enacted new rules that spell how and when complaints against judges must be investigated and made public.

“The whole process has been good for the judiciary,” said Thomas Hogan, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and chair of the Judicial Conference’s executive committee. “Judges hate change more than lawyers,” he added, but the conference recognized the need for better disciplinary procedures.

For more on the changes stay tuned to legaltimes.com. A copy of the new procedures can be found here.

— By Tony Mauro