Overview
- A national judicial committee in late May 2026 affirmed a finding that an unnamed federal district judge engaged in an extramarital affair with a high‑ranking police officer and had sexual intercourse in the judge’s chambers during business hours.
- The probe began after a law clerk’s memorandum to Chief Circuit Judge William Pryor led the 11th Circuit to appoint a special committee that interviewed six former clerks and reviewed security footage, visitor logs, acoustic testing and forensic testing of a chambers couch cushion.
- Investigators concluded the relationship lasted about two years, from roughly October 2023 to October 2025, during which the judge routinely heard criminal cases but was not documented as presiding over a case involving the officer or the officer’s department.
- Sanctions affirmed by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability include a private reprimand, ordered apology letters to six former clerks, a pledge to forgo future service as chief judge and a ban on serving on Judicial Conference committees.
- The decision kept the judge’s name and court confidential, with the committee citing factors such as the judge’s admission, the end of the relationship and assessed rehabilitation potential as reasons for administrative rather than public or removal remedies.