US Judge Facing Misconduct Claims Said to Have ‘Abandoned’ Job

Key Points:

• A committee of judicial investigators found reasonable basis to believe US District Judge Ada Brown of Dallas suffers from a mental condition interfering with her duties, recommending she be temporarily removed from her docket amid allegations of misconduct.
• Brown faces complaints including mishandling her docket, recusing from over 40 cases without proper reasons, making racial insults, sending bizarre emails, and creating a hostile work environment for judges and court staff.
• The Fifth Circuit’s judicial council ordered Brown to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by October 21, but she has declined to participate in the misconduct proceedings and has largely stopped issuing orders since August 10.
• Brown, appointed by President Trump in 2019 and the first Black woman district judge in the Northern District of Texas, denies the misconduct allegations and rejects claims about her mental health, while acknowledging some communication could have been handled more delicately.
• Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Judge Reed O’Connor have taken steps to transfer Brown’s cases away from her, with Elrod stating there is probable cause of egregious, hostile behavior and abandonment of her judicial responsibilities.