Chief US appeals court judge says district judge likely violated rule barring hostile work environment

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The chief judge on the federal appeals court covering New England has found probable cause that a district court judge within the circuit engaged in misconduct by violating a rule prohibiting creating a hostile work environment.

Chief U.S. District Judge David Barron of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals detailed that conclusion in a newly released order summarizing an inquiry he launched after receiving information from one of the unnamed judge's former law clerks.

Barron's November 24 order was made public after a five-member panel of the 1st Circuit Judicial Council voted on January 27 to uphold his decision to conclude the matter without further action because of "intervening events."

Exactly what those events were, though, were not detailed in Barron's order, which also did not identify the judge's name or court. The 1st Circuit's district courts are in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.

The 1st Circuit did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The case marked the latest effort by the judiciary to police itself amid an ongoing debate about whether the court system is doing enough to address allegations of workplace misconduct.

Unlike other federal employees, the judiciary is not covered by federal anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which can be enforced through lawsuits.

Instead, claims of workplace misconduct by its 30,000 employees are handled via the courts' internal employment dispute resolution systems or through workplace misconduct complaints that are filed against judges under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.

Court reform advocates, though, say the process is opaque and that, despite efforts by the judiciary to improve it, many clerks avoid pursuing such complaints due to fear that they may face retaliation or that their concerns will not be taken seriously.

Barron, in his order, said he began his inquiry after receiving a letter from a chief district judge in the 1st Circuit who had recently interviewed at length a former law clerk of the subject judge.

The letter concluded that the information the clerk provided might constitute grounds to find the judge violated rules against "treating litigants, attorneys, judicial employees, or others in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner" or "creating a hostile work environment for judicial employees."

Barron said based on that letter, he found probable cause to find that misconduct had occurred and initiated a complaint against the judge. Barron also said that he then conducted lengthy interviews with the subject judge and ex-clerk, and reviewed a number of written submissions from the judge.

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