On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, Fordham Law News reported that Bruce Green, director of Fordham Law’s Louis Stein Center for Law & Ethics, commented on the controversy surrounding Judge Emil Bove of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The controversy stems from Bove’s public support of the president’s pardon of a convicted drug trafficker and his attendance at a Trump rally within the same week.
According to a POLITICO article, while some legal ethicists have criticized Bove’s actions as inappropriate, Green suggests that Bove may not have explicitly violated the code of conduct for U.S. judges.
Green stated that Bove’s actions might create the appearance that he is seeking a higher office, potentially a seat on the Supreme Court. However, Green acknowledged that this perception is not unique to Bove among conservative judges.
Despite acknowledging that attending a political rally could compromise a judge’s impartiality, Green noted that the code’s language isn’t definitively clear on whether it applies to Bove’s situation. He characterized the matter as a “judgment call” for the chief judge, as he believes the code doesn’t explicitly forbid such actions.
Green expressed doubt that disciplinary action would be taken against a life-tenured federal judge without a clear violation of the code’s explicit wording.
Source: Fordham Law News
