Posted by Nicholas Stix
Rare formal review ordered for federal judge
By Lise Olsen | June 12, 2013 | Updated: June 12, 2013 11:44 p.m.
· Houston Chronicle
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Photo By HO
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Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones allegedly made racist remarks.
Photo: HO / 5TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS
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Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones allegedly made racist remarks.
Photo: HO / 5TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS
Photo: Mayra Beltran, Houston Chronicle
More Information
Accused of misconduct: Minorities, disabled allegedly targeted
Roberts' letter about Jones: See the entire letter here
The Elroy Chester case: Judges agreed to reassign it
Chester's execution: Firefighter's killer put to death
Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court formally ordered on Wednesday that a rare public judicial misconduct complaint against 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones be reviewed by officials in a different circuit — one based in the nation's capital.
"I have selected the Judicial Council of the District of Columbia Circuit to accept the transfer and to exercise the powers of a judicial council with respect to the identified complaint and any pending or new complaints relating to the same subject matter," Roberts said in a letter addressed to the D.C. circuit's chief judge that was posted on the 5th Circuit's website.
It is only one of a handful of times in U.S. history that a federal circuit judge has been the subject of a public judicial misconduct complaint and a formal disciplinary review. Normally such matters are secret under federal law.
"This is a hopeful sign that (federal judges) are taking this seriously," says a lawyer who signed the complaint, James C. Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
The pending misconduct complaint filed last week alleges that Judge Jones, a former chief judge who is based in Houston, improperly discussed pending cases, and allegedly made derogatory remarks about African-Americans, Mexican nationals and the mentally retarded in a public speech at the Federalist Society chapter at the University of Pennsylvania in February.
The complaint includes allegations that Jones improperly referred to pending death penalty cases in her speech, including the case of Elroy Chester, who was executed Wednesday in Texas for the murder of a Port Arthur firefighter.
Attorneys for Chester filed motions last week in which they argued Chester should receive a stay of execution based on allegations in the judicial misconduct complaint that Jones improperly discussed his case and did not appear impartial as a member of the panel reviewing his final appeals. However, a panel of 5th Circuit judges that included Jones, on Tuesday transferred final review of the matter to another three-judge panel on Wednesday. The second panel allowed the execution to proceed.
Attorneys complained
Chief Justice Roberts' letter, dated June 12, reports that the reassignment of the judicial misconduct complaint against Jones to jurists in Washington, D.C., came in response to a request for transfer from the current Chief Judge of the 5th Circuit, Carl E. Stewart.
Stewart, who replaced Jones as chief judge last October, apparently requested last week that the June 4 complaint review be assigned to another circuit court for review. However, his request on Friday for transfer was not previously made public.
The complaint against Jones was filed and made public by a group of 13 attorneys from anti-death penalty, civil rights and ethics groups.
Told judge to 'shut up'
In the complaint, the group asked that another circuit investigate the matter because the complaint involved remarks made by Jones, a powerful former circuit chief judge, and also included an allegation that Jones had committed misconduct by telling another 5th Circuit circuit judge to "shut up" during formal court proceedings in 2011.
Recordings confirm that Jones indeed told another judge to "shut up" in a 2011 court hearing. However, Jones later said she'd offered an apology, according to an account of the incident published by Texas Lawyer.
No recording appears to exist of the speech Jones gave in February. Instead the complaint is based on recollections of her remarks described in affidavits by a capital defense lawyer and others who attended the event.
Contribute to this story:
Lise Olsen
Investigative Reporter
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