In the latest move arising from congressional concerns about judicial misconduct, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Thursday urged the US courts’ administrative office to conduct a comprehensive study of sexual harassment in the federal judiciary and establish confidential channels for reporting abuse.
The Democrats also asked James Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the US Courts, to seek a uniform, independent process for investigating employee claims of misconduct by judges.
The heightened national focus on the behavior of federal judges began a year ago, in December 2017, after former clerks and staffers went public with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct against US appellate Judge Alex Kozinski.
Kozinski, based in California, retired shortly after the claims became public. He denied any wrongdoing.
The incident helped put a spotlight on long-standing problems with the judiciary’s system for reporting and resolving allegations of abuse. Chief Justice John Roberts established a “working group” to make recommendations to improve the system, and in his recent year-end report announced that the group would continue its efforts through 2019.
California Democrat Dianne Feinstein and the other senators praised the working group’s initial endeavors but told Duff they fell short, particularly regarding an assessment of the prevalence of misconduct by federal judges, who have lifetime tenure.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, took the lead on a committee hearing related to the matter last June. It could not be determined on Thursday whether Republicans would also be following up with the administrative office.
