DOJ files ethics complaint against 7 federal judges

The Department of Justice is accusing seven federal judges in Minnesota of violating judicial ethics after they spoke publicly about pressure being placed on their courthouse during last winter’s immigration enforcement surge. 

Big picture view:

The Justice Department filed a complaint against the judges, who had been nominated by both Democratic and Republican presidents, over their comments to the New York Times about the flood of cases that resulted from the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge. 

The DOJ alleges that their comments reflect an "obvious bias" and wants the judges to recuse themselves from all criminal and civil cases involving the Department of Homeland Security. 

What they're saying:

"When we have a situation like we have now, where you have a judge, a couple of judges, just not only violating the canons in our view, but also showing bias in what they’re saying, we have no choice but to act to defend not only our prosecutors, but also DHS," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. 

The other side:

A spokesperson for the Minnesota federal court told the Associated Press that legal experts have stated the judges acted "well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges," with their comments to the newspaper. 

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The main judge featured in the story, Patrick Schiltz, told the New York Times that the government had failed to comply with nearly 100 court orders. Schiltz, who was nominated by President George W. Bush and once served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, wrote in one ruling that one of the DHS’s agencies, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, "is not a law unto itself."

The DOJ complaint was filed with the chief judge of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the federal judges in Minnesota. 

 

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