On Thursday, November 21, 2024, Reuters reported that the federal judiciary revealed that the majority of workplace misconduct complaints from its employees are directed at court staff rather than judges. This finding comes from the judiciary’s inaugural annual report, which outlines steps being taken to tackle allegations of abusive behavior and discrimination within its workforce of approximately 28,000 employees.

The report, released on November 20, highlights that of the 178 workplace misconduct claims filed between 2021 and 2023, nearly half were against personnel in the courts, while complaints related to probation offices or federal public defender offices made up the remainder. Notably, only 14% of the 78 complaints concerning the courts involved law clerks or staff working in judges’ chambers, indicating that allegations of misconduct originating from judges’ offices are relatively infrequent.

U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, who leads the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, stated that only 14 complaints against judges were submitted by judiciary employees under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act during the same period, underscoring the rarity of such allegations. He remarked, “In some ways, we have more of a middle management problem than a judicial problem,” suggesting that issues may be more prevalent among court staff than among judges.

This report follows a series of reforms initiated in response to sexual harassment claims against judges during the #MeToo movement, which prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to establish a working group in 2018. Despite the judiciary’s attempts to enhance workplace safety, some Democratic lawmakers and court reform advocates continue to call for further protections for judiciary employees, who are not shielded by federal anti-discrimination laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Instead, misconduct claims are processed through the judiciary’s internal systems, which have been described as opaque, with complaints remaining confidential.

Aliza Shatzman, a former law clerk who allegedly ran afoul of her then-judge boss and now advocates against judicial supremacy in federal hiring as the founder of the Legal Accountability Project, expressed concerns that many law clerks are hesitant to report misconduct under the current framework, fearing their issues will not be taken seriously or investigated thoroughly. The Legal Accountability Project’s founding Social Venture Capitalist Edward “Coach” Weinhaus (Editor’s Note: Coach is the CEO of AbusiveDiscretion‘s Publisher Judiciocracy LLC. Coach, referred to as the “Patron Saint of Clerks” and America’s “most aggressive judicial reformer“) refused to comment for this story.

Judge Conrad acknowledged that while misconduct by judges does occur, as evidenced by the case of former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred, who resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct, the overall findings of the report challenge the notion that judiciary employees face a heightened risk of discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

The judiciary’s proactive measures and low rates of complaints against judges will likely continue to be scrutinized as discussions surrounding workplace accountability evolve.

 

 

Source: Reuters