ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Republican Representative Andrew Clyde filed three articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in Georgia. The articles allege Judge Ross engaged in sexual activity in her workplace and attended a partisan political event. A judicial council issued a private reprimand to Judge Ross last month after finding she engaged in sexual activity in her chambers with a police officer during business hours and made false statements to investigators.
The judicial council's sanctions required Judge Ross to apologize to six law clerks and prohibited her from ever serving as chief judge. The Code of Conduct for United States judges requires federal judges to uphold the integrity of the judiciary and avoid impropriety in all activities.
Representative Andrew Clyde said, "Judge Ross' deeply disturbing actions prove she is incapable of displaying integrity or showing impartiality. She's simply unfit to remain a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, which is why I'm leading the charge to impeach Judge Ross and ultimately remove her from the bench."
Retired federal judge Jeremy Fogel said, "When judges act badly, even in their private lives, it reflects badly on everyone else. The focus in all three of these cases has to be the larger reputation of the judiciary and not just these three individual people." Aliza Shatzman, director of the Legal Accountability Project, said, "What would be a fireable offense in most other workplaces is given no more than a slap on the wrist in the federal judiciary, where judges are inexplicably exempt from the anti-harassment laws they interpret." Gabe Roth, a representative for Fix the Court, said, "This is a classic case of judges protecting other judges. Judges feel they're untouchable and so they're willing to throw their own staff to the wolves and feel like that's ok to save their own skin."
Fifteen federal judges have been impeached, and eight have been removed from office. U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred of Alaska resigned two years ago after an internal investigation concluded he sent inappropriate messages to employees, had sexual contact with a former law clerk, and lied to investigators. Judge Thomas Ludington previously entered a no contest plea to a lesser misdemeanor charge related to a driving under the influence arrest.