What happens if a federal judge shows misconduct

Donate News. The Justices. Action Center. Get the Latest. Filter By:. Act Now. Related News. Press Release. Contact Us Contact. Sign Up. This is not the first time partisan disagreement over a court decision has led to impeachment threats.

But if the legislators follow through, they would toss aside a centuries-old understanding that if the impeachment power is used to punish judges for their rulings, it undermines the vital independence of our judicial branch. Impeachment is a process by which the political branches of government — usually the legislature — can remove judges from office.

Because the impeachment power lies primarily in the hands of politicians, it is at times threatened for partisan reasons, but the impeachment and removal of judges is in fact rare and usually limited to grave ethical or criminal misconduct such as perjury, fraud, or conflicts of interest.

Federal and state constitutions provide different mechanisms for impeachment of judges, but impeachment is generally a two-step process. With respect to federal judges, under Article I of the United States Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach, and the Senate the power to hold a trial to determine whether removal is appropriate. The House can impeach a judge with a simple majority vote.

However, a judge may only be removed from office following a trial and a vote to convict by a two-thirds majority of the Senate. And in others the number of votes required to impeach or convict differs. Impeachment of judges is rare, and removal is rarer still. With respect to federal judges, since , the House of Representatives has impeached only 15 judges — an average of one every 14 years — and only 8 of those impeachments were followed by convictions in the Senate.

Impeachment in the states has been similarly rare. A review of studies by the American Judicature Society and the National Center for State Courts, as well as news articles, reveals just two instances of a state judge being impeached in the last 25 years.

In , Pennsylvania impeached and removed the first and only judge in its history, Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen, and in New Hampshire impeached, but the state senate declined to remove, Supreme Court Justice David Brock.

There are more instances, however, of legislators unsuccessfully calling for the impeachment of a judge. However, the impeachment power has historically been limited to cases of serious ethical or criminal misconduct. A form is not necessary to file a complaint. Your complaint must be legible, and preferably typed. It must include a contact address, a description of the relevant events, a description of when and where the relevant events took place, and any other information that would help an investigator check the facts.

Your complaint should contain as much relevant detail as possible e. You must sign the complaint under penalty of perjury. To find out whether you must file additional copies of the complaint, review any applicable local rules and check with the appropriate court office.

Submit the envelope to the appropriate court office as provided under any applicable local rules or instructions from the appropriate court office. In most instances, the chief judge of the circuit where you filed your complaint or the chief judge of the Court of International Trade or the Court of Federal Claims, if applicable will consider your complaint if you filed your complaint in the appropriate court office. In determining what action to take, the circuit chief judge may conduct a limited inquiry into the facts you allege, which may include witness interviews and the review of additional information.

You may or may not be contacted as part of this process. After considering your complaint, the circuit chief judge will dismiss or conclude your complaint see questions 8 through 11 or appoint a special committee of judges to investigate your complaint see questions 12 through If the circuit chief judge dismisses or concludes your complaint, you will receive a copy of that order.

If the circuit chief judge appoints a special committee, you will receive notice. The circuit chief judge must dismiss your complaint where it alleges conduct that, even if true, is not prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts and does not indicate a mental or physical disability resulting in the inability to discharge the duties of judicial office; is frivolous; is based on allegations lacking sufficient evidence to raise an inference that misconduct has occurred or that a disability exists; is based on allegations that are incapable of being established through investigation; or has been filed in the wrong circuit.

There are other circumstances where a circuit chief judge will dismiss your complaint, as explained in the Rules and the Commentary on the Rules. The circuit chief judge may conclude your complaint if the judge you are complaining about voluntarily takes corrective action. The circuit chief judge may also conclude your complaint if intervening events have made further action unnecessary. If the circuit chief judge dismisses or concludes your complaint, you will receive a copy of the order and you will be notified of your right to have the circuit judicial council, consisting of circuit and district judges, or national court, if applicable review that order.

If you request further review when you have no right to it, no action will be taken on your request. The requirements of a petition for review by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability are explained in question If the circuit chief judge refers your complaint to a special committee, that special committee will investigate the complaint and report on it to the circuit judicial council.

The special committee generally will consist of the circuit chief judge and an equal number of circuit and district judges. The special committee may conduct interviews and hold hearings, but it is not required to do so. If you have relevant evidence that has not been presented to the special committee, you can briefly explain in writing the nature of that evidence. If the special committee determines you have additional evidence that would assist the committee, a committee representative will interview you.

You or your attorney may submit written argument to the special committee.