Judge Ross Should Have Been Punished For Abdicating Her Judicial Power To Her Law Clerkshttps://reason.com/volokh/2026/06/01/judge-ross-should-have-been-punished-for-abdicating-her-judicial-power-to-her-law-clerks/Judge Eleanor Ross, who serves on the federal bench in Atlanta, engaged in multiple acts of misconduct. She carried on a secret affair with an Atlanta police department officer for nearly two years, repeatedly had loud sex in her chambers, lied about her trysts, and obstructed the investigation. Each of these actions warranted a public reprimand and an impeachment inquiry. But one of the more stunning allegations has flown under the radar: Judge Ross routinely signs judicial orders her law clerks prepare without even reading them. Indeed, it seems she never even talks about these cases with her clerks, so likely has no clue what she is even approving. Yet the council that reviewed this case found no misconduct.
Let me tell you a not-so-well-kept secret: most judges let their law clerks do far too much. Take it from my personal experience. I clerked in a federal district court for two years immediately after law school. The judge I clerked for, who recently passed away, was a dedicated jurist and an honorable man, but he let his clerks have far too much autonomy. At the time, I was overwhelmed with how many important decisions turned on my immature judgment. In hindsight, I cringe at my mistakes that the judge did not catch. Judge Ross will likely lose her judgeship, either through resignation or impeachment. But the public needs to take a closer look at judges who have abdicated the judicial power to unknown law clerks.
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In contrast with the criminal docket, Judge Ross had no oversight of the civil docket. All six clerks reported that Judge Ross "did not indicate to the clerk how the judge was inclined to rule on the motion or otherwise provide any direction." Moreover, "it was generally understood that" Judge Ross "did not wish to discuss substantive civil-case related issues with clerks." I suppose her time was better spent having loud sex in chambers.
To be clear, the Judge didn't talk to her clerks about cases before they were assigned, and didn't want to talk to the clerk while the cases were being considered. Worse still, it appears that the judge rubber-stamped virtually every civil order that came before her. The clerks relayed that Judge Ross "rarely, if ever, substantively edited civil orders the clerks drafted." Indeed, the clerks were "generally unaware as to whether the Subject Judge reviewed pleadings or draft civil orders." As proof, a law clerk "stated that on multiple occasions the judge emailed the clerk to docket an order within a few minutes of receiving it, indicating that the judge may not have had time to read it."
Boinking in-chambers ... undisclosed, with a police officer ... not doing work on civil cases ... . Her liaisons with the police officer alone should disqualify her from all Atlanta criminal cases!
