In Re Complaint of Judicial Misconduct

ORDER

Complainant alleges that a district judge improperly delegated the judicial power to a deputy clerk in his civil case. Complainant points to an order to show cause, which lists a variety of jurisdictional defects, some of which are marked with a check mark, and others which are not. The form also contains a narrative explanation of the defect and has “Deputy Clerk” typed in the signature line. Complainant infers that the order must have been issued by the deputy clerk without specific directions from the judge.

“[J]udges can have assistants who are not themselves judges” and those assistants may “advise and assist the real judge.” Geras v. Lafayette Display Fixtures, Inc., 742 F.2d 1037, 1046-47 (7th Cir.1984) (Posner, J., dissenting). Judges are free to give such assistants specific or general instructions and trust the assistants to perform the functions they’ve been assigned. For example, it is not an impermissible delegation of judicial authority for the judge not to draft every word of an order or not to cite-check his own opinions. The key is that the subordinate is acting pursuant to instructions from, and under the supervision of, the judge, and that the judge…