Category: Uncategorized

Federal courts appoint first Judicial Integrity Officer

Back in January of this year, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed a Workplace Conduct Working Group in response to several public allegations of workplace harassment within the court system. The Working Group made its recommendations in June. Now, the court system had followed up on one of the most significant recommendations by appointing a Judicial Integrity Officer: Jill Langley, formerly the Director of Workplace Relations for the Tenth Circuit.

According to the press release:

One of Langley’s first responsibilities will be to set up a new office that will serve as an independent source of information and referral. This will include answering individuals’ questions, providing guidance on conflict resolution, mediation, and formal complaint options.

The new Judicial Integrity Office also will track and monitor data and any recurring workplace issues to identify trends and conduct systemic analyses and reviews. In addition, Langley will provide training throughout the Judiciary and serve as a resource for workplace conduct staff throughout the court system, including coordination with the Ninth Circuit’s director of workplace relations, the D.C. Circuit’s workplace relations coordinators, and other similar positions in the courts.

 

Update on legislation affecting the federal courts

Members of Congress have recently introduced several bills that would affect the staffing, administration, or jurisdiction of the federal courts. Among them:

  • The Injunction Authority Clarification Act of 2018 would prevent a court from enforcing an injunction against a non-party to the suit, “unless the party is acting in a representative capacity pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” Howard Wasserman has a good analysis of the bill here.
  • The Electronic Court Records Reform Act of 2018 would ensure free public access to public records on the federal courts’ PACER system. Members of the public are currently charged 10 cents per page to access documents online, unless they obtain a fee waiver from the individual court in which the case is pending. I know PACER can be a meaningful source of income for the court system, but I have long supported opening up PACER access without fee restrictions.
  • The ROOM Act would add 52 new federal district judges, and would require the Supreme Court (by audio) and Courts of Appeal (by video) to stream their oral arguments live when possible, and otherwise with an archive delay. None of these proposals is new, and indeed the addition of district judges has long been requested by the courts themselves.

We’ll see if, and how, any of these nascent pieces of legislation develop.

Second West Virginia supreme court justice pleads guilty to federal fraud charges

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced that West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Menis Ketchum had pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, stemming from his personal use of a state-issued automobile and credit card. Ketchum is the second state supreme court justice to face federal charges; former Chief Justice Allen Loughry was previously charged with 23 counts of fraud and related misconduct.

The guilty plea comes as the state legislature continues to investigate the possibility of impeachment for one or more members of the state’s highest court.

An update on the West Virginia Supreme Court impeachment probe

Last Thursday, the West Virginia House Judiciary Committee began hearings that may lead to the impeachment of one or more of the state’s supreme court justices. The hearings were precipitated by accusations of rampant overspending and other ethical violations by Chief Justice Allen Loughry, who was indicted on 22 counts of fraud and other malfeasance by a federal grand jury.

Thursday’s hearings focused on a now-infamous $32,000 couch, part of an alleged $360,000 in taxpayer money that Loughry spent on his office between 2013 and his suspension last year. The supreme court’s deputy director of security testified that the couch was moved from the courthouse to Loughry’s home, and that after Loughry was suspended from his duties he contacted the security office to help him move the couch (and a historic Cass Gilbert desk) again–this time to a warehouse, in order to avoid ongoing media scrutiny. Other court officials testified about Loughry’s improper use of state vehicles and the extraordinary remodeling of Loughry’s chambers.

Legislators also questioned the court’s public information officer, who had previously told a reporter that “the Court has a longstanding practice of providing Justices an opportunity to establish a home office,” including the use of court furniture. The PIO explained that she was told about the alleged practice by Loughry, and deferred to him in light of his position and experience. In fact, no such policy exists.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee planned their own tour of the supreme court offices last Friday, but cancelled after the Court refused to allow media and other observers to join the legislators.

There will be more to come in this ugly situation. Stay tuned.

 

Chicago judge settles lawsuit over court layoffs

Late last year, the Cook County (Ill.) Board ordered the termination of nearly 180 county court employees, in light of rampant financial problems throughout the county. That action spurred Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans to file a lawsuit against the Board to enjoin the layoffs. Chief Judge Evans argued that even though the Board had power to set the courts’ budget, it did not have the authority to target individual employees for layoffs.

The Lake County Circuit Court agreed in December, issuing a temporary restraining order against the county to prevent the layoffs. Now, nearly eight months later, the parties have reached a settlement.

Both sides are claiming victory. The Board is saying that the settlement amount is “much lower than what was initially demanded” and that it will promote efficiencies in the court system. Chief Judge Evans points to the loss of only 22 jobs (as opposed the the initial 180), and his belief that “the lawsuit made clear that the county board had no authority to lay off court employees.”

A more detailed (and glowing) look at Rosen’s biography of Taft

I have praised Jeffrey Rosen’s new biography of William Howard Taft on this blog before.  It is a lucidly framed and highly readable look into the life of the only man ever to serve as both President and Chief Justice.

My longer review of Rosen’s book has now been published on JOTWELL. Enjoy!

Judge Van Pelt wins in Georgia; Justice Goodson advances in Arkansas

I previously noted the bizarre story of Georgia Superior Court Judge Ralph Van Pelt, a twenty-year veteran of the court who was promised a “blood sport” campaign by a local kingmaker. Last night, Judge Van Pelt fought off his challenger, Melissa Hise, winning over 52% of the vote.

A couple states away, Arkansas Justice Courtney Goodson advanced to a two-way race with a local attorney to keep her seat, after a whirlwind couple of weeks in which Goodson sued an out-of-state group for broadcasting defamatory attack ads against her. That lawsuit produced a preliminary injunction against the ads in some Arkansas counties but not others, and the case is still pending.

Perhaps the cauldron of a political campaign improves one’s skill, patience, and approach to judging. But I am having trouble seeing it.

Patent filings in Eastern District of Texas fall 68% after TC Heartland decision

For many years, plaintiffs in patent infringement cases flocked to the Eastern District of Texas, spurred by welcoming judges, rocket docket scheduling, and a belief that they would find plaintiff-friendly juries. Defendants in the same cases naturally chafed at having to defend in the Eastern District, especially when there was little, if any, connection between that location and the allegedly infringing activity.  This led to hundreds of defense motions to transfer venue to another federal district court–motions that were usually denied by the local judges who wanted to keep the cases in their district. The Eastern District dominated the national patent docket, with well over a thousand infringement cases filed in the district each year.

That all changed last year, when the Supreme Court’s in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods read the federal venue statutes to severely limit where patent infringement cases could be brought. No longer could a plaintiff assert a reasonable connection to the Eastern District of Texas just because some defendant sold an allegedly infringing product there. Unsurprisingly, the new restrictions have led to a drastic drop in filings in the Eastern District, and a growth in filings in the District of Delaware (where many business defendants are incorporated), among other venues.

It will be interesting to see where things settle in the coming years.