Demand Real Consequences for Federal Judicial Misconduct in Florida
The Issue
A federal judge had sex with a law enforcement officer inside the judge's chambers during business hours, within earshot of staff. The same judge attended a partisan political event, then lied to investigators when the allegations surfaced. A special committee confirmed all of it.
The punishment: a private reprimand. The judge's name has not been released to the public.
Court records obtained by News 6 reveal that a special committee of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, found the judge guilty of judicial misconduct in February. The findings included a gross lack of judgment, conduct that made the judge vulnerable to extortion or blackmail, and what the committee described as "numerous, material false statements" to the Chief Circuit Judge and Chief District Judge during the investigation.
The misconduct came to light through a law clerk who reported the affair. In response, the judge called the allegations "outrageous" and "baseless," implying the clerk had fabricated them out of retaliation. The committee ultimately sided with the clerk. The clerk faced a judge's wrath. The judge faced a private letter.
The federal judiciary investigates itself. It sanctions itself. And in this case, it chose to protect the identity of a judge who lied to investigators, conducted an affair that compromised the integrity of the courtroom, and created a hostile environment for the staff who worked there. The public, whose cases this judge presides over, has no right to know who it is.
That is not accountability. That is a system protecting itself.
We are calling on the Eleventh Circuit to release the identity of the judge and the full misconduct record, and on the U.S. Congress to establish independent oversight of federal judicial misconduct proceedings, require public disclosure when a sitting judge is found to have committed misconduct, and strengthen whistleblower protections for law clerks who report judicial wrongdoing.
A judge who lies to investigators and faces no public consequence is a judge the public cannot trust.
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The Issue
A federal judge had sex with a law enforcement officer inside the judge's chambers during business hours, within earshot of staff. The same judge attended a partisan political event, then lied to investigators when the allegations surfaced. A special committee confirmed all of it.
The punishment: a private reprimand. The judge's name has not been released to the public.
Court records obtained by News 6 reveal that a special committee of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, found the judge guilty of judicial misconduct in February. The findings included a gross lack of judgment, conduct that made the judge vulnerable to extortion or blackmail, and what the committee described as "numerous, material false statements" to the Chief Circuit Judge and Chief District Judge during the investigation.
The misconduct came to light through a law clerk who reported the affair. In response, the judge called the allegations "outrageous" and "baseless," implying the clerk had fabricated them out of retaliation. The committee ultimately sided with the clerk. The clerk faced a judge's wrath. The judge faced a private letter.
The federal judiciary investigates itself. It sanctions itself. And in this case, it chose to protect the identity of a judge who lied to investigators, conducted an affair that compromised the integrity of the courtroom, and created a hostile environment for the staff who worked there. The public, whose cases this judge presides over, has no right to know who it is.
That is not accountability. That is a system protecting itself.
We are calling on the Eleventh Circuit to release the identity of the judge and the full misconduct record, and on the U.S. Congress to establish independent oversight of federal judicial misconduct proceedings, require public disclosure when a sitting judge is found to have committed misconduct, and strengthen whistleblower protections for law clerks who report judicial wrongdoing.
A judge who lies to investigators and faces no public consequence is a judge the public cannot trust.
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Petition created on May 26, 2026