In Re Complaint of Judicial Misconduct

This is a petition for review of the dismissal of a judicial misconduct complaint. The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit (Council) has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 352 (c), and we deny the petition, albeit on a different ground than that relied on by the Chief Judge.

The complainant (Complainant) is a former provisional employee of the United States Probation Office, of a district court in this circuit. Complainant was terminated from employment by the Probation Department and she appealed her termination to the chief district judge, who upheld the termination. 1 Complainant then appealed the chief judge’s determination, and the matter was assigned to a court committee for review. The committee also upheld the termination.

Complainant then filed a judicial misconduct complaint against the chief district judge and the district judge who chaired the review committee, alleging that they abused their authority, denied her due process, and had a conflict of interest. The complaint was referred to the Chief Judge of the Circuit for review, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 352 (a). Upon review, the Chief Judge dismissed the complaint for failing to allege conduct that would constitute…

concurring in the result:

I concur in the result reached by the majority. Rather than deciding as a general matter whether judicial misconduct can be found in routine personnel decisions, I would affirm the Chief Judge’s decision for the reasons she gave.

366 F.3d 963 In re COMPLAINT OF JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT. No. 03-89057. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. May 5, 2004. Before ALARCÓN, * KOZINSKI, KLEINFELD, A. TASHIMA, and W.A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and PATEL, ** COUGHENOUR, EZRA, SHANSTROM, and LEVI,* District Judges. TASHIMA, Circuit Judge. 1 This is a petition for review of the dismissal of a judicial misconduct complaint. The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit (Council) has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 352 (c), and we deny the petition, albeit on a different ground than that relied on by the Chief Judge. 2 The complainant (Complainant) is a former provisional employee of the United States Probation Office, of a district court in this circuit. Complainant was terminated from employment by the Probation Department and she appealed her termination to the chief district judge, who upheld the termination. 1 Complainant then appealed the chief judge's determination, and the matter was assigned to a court committee for review. The committee also upheld the termination. 3 Complainant then filed a judicial misconduct complaint against the chief district judge and the district judge who chaired the review…