Roberts refers judicial misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh to federal appeals court in Colorado

Source: Washington Post

Public Safety

Roberts refers judicial misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh to federal appeals court in Colorado

By Ann E. Marimow and Tom Hamburger
October 10 at 4:36 PM

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday referred more than a dozen judicial misconduct complaints filed recently against Brett M. Kavanaugh to a federal appeals court in Colorado. ... The 15 complaints, related to statements Kavanaugh made during his Senate confirmation hearings, were initially filed with the federal appeals court in Washington, where Kavanaugh served for the last 12 years before his confirmation Saturday to the Supreme Court.

A judge on the federal appeals court in Washington had asked Roberts to refer the filings to another appeals court for review after determining that they should not be handled by Kavanaugh's fellow judges at the time on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. ... In a letter Wednesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Roberts said he had selected the court in Colorado to "accept the transfer and to exercise the powers of a judicial council with respect to the identified complaints and any pending or new complaints relating to the same subject matter."

The Denver-based appeals court is led by Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, the former solicitor general of Colorado who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush. The 10th Circuit handled another recent judicial misconduct case from Washington involving the former chief judge of the District Court.

It is unclear what will come of the review by the 10th Circuit. The judiciary's rules on misconduct do not apply to Supreme Court justices. The 10th Circuit will likely decide to dismiss the complaints as moot now that Kavanaugh has joined the high court. ... "There is nothing that a judicial council could do at this point," said Arthur D. Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and expert on the operation of federal courts.
....

Ann Marimow covers legal affairs for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2005 and has covered state government and politics in California, New Hampshire and Maryland. Follow https://twitter.com/amarimow

Tom Hamburger is an investigative reporter on the national desk of The Washington Post. He has covered the White House, Congress and regulatory agencies, with a focus on money and politics. Follow https://twitter.com/thamburger

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/roberts-refers-judicial-misconduct-complaints-against-kavanaugh-to-federal-appeals-court-in-colorado/2018/10/10/34298534-ccc3-11e8-a360-85875bac0b1f_story.html