Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here.
Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.
Happy Monday!
Hello from Michigan! One of my favorite things about summer in Michigan is the late-evening sunset. Last week I was on the west side of the state, where the sun doesn’t set until after 9PM. I love the long days of summer.
Let’s dive into the headlines.
Highlights from Last Week – Top 10 Headlines 📰
#1 “Judge Offers New Apology for Her In-Chambers Affair and Other Misconduct.” From The New York Times: “Renee Knake Jefferson, a law professor at the University of Houston, said that in her two decades of research on legal ethics, she could not think of any instance in which a judge was forced to rewrite an apology as part of a sanction. ‘It appears the only reason Judge Ross has been asked to redo her apology,’ she added, ‘is because of public outcry over the lack of meaningful discipline. The public deserves better from the federal judiciary and its discipline process.’” Read more here (gift link). And read her second apology below.
#2 “Former Chapman Law Dean Alleges Removal Was Driven By Sexual Orientation.” From the Daily Journal: “Paul Paton claims Chapman University ousted him as dean under the guise of scholarship-budget concerns after deciding to retreat from DEI initiatives and target him because he is gay.” Read more here.
#3 “When Must Justices Recuse Themselves Over Family Members’ Acts?” From SCOTUSblog: “Late last month, the news site NOTUS reignited the perennial debate about Supreme Court recusals when it reported that Justice Samuel Alito’s son, Philip Alito, ‘quietly landed a political appointee job as a lawyer in the Treasury Department early last year.’ The article claimed that the younger Alito’s job raised questions about his father’s ability to fairly weigh cases tied to the Treasury Department and prompted a flurry of social media posts about the court’s ethics rules.” Read more here.
#4 “Skepticism Grows Over Justice Dept.’s Vows to End $1.8 Billion Fund.” From the New York Times: “Two sets of lawyers noted that while senior department officials said the fund would not move forward, they declined to offer assurances that this would hold in the future.” Read more here (gift link).
#5 “US Appeals Court Judge Charged in Parking Lot Scuffle Faces Ethics Inquiry.” From Reuters: “A judge on the largest U.S. federal appeals court is facing a judicial misconduct inquiry after news reports over the weekend revealed that he had been criminally charged over a parking lot dispute in Idaho in April. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Murguia of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an order released on Monday, said she had initiated a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson after he was hit with misdemeanor charges of battery and malicious injury to property on April 22.” Read more here.
#6 “88 Law School Deans Unite to Support Professional Independence.” From the ABA Journal: “Eighty-eight current and former law school deans have endorsed the ‘Principles for the Independence of the Legal Profession,’ drafted by a bipartisan group of former judges, that emphasizes the need for an independent judiciary and legal profession.” Read more here.
#7 “Florida Reinstates Trump Lawyer Chesebro Despite Guilty Plea.” From Bloomberg Law: “The Florida Supreme Court allowed former Donald Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro back into practice in the state—a decision one justice criticized for going light on the litigator. The majority opinion issued Thursday said the court found itself in a dilemma. Chesebro, who pleaded guilty in Georgia, admitted to a count of ‘conspiracy to commit filing false documents’ in connection with efforts to toss the results of the 2020 presidential election. But the conviction was entered and later exonerated under Georgia’s First Offender Act and his probation was discharged. ‘This matter is unique. We have a duty to regulate the practice of law in Florida and meaningfully sanction lawyer misconduct,’ the high court’s unauthored opinion said in lifting a felony suspension imposed on Chesebro in 2024. ‘But we are also bound to respect the judgments of sister states under principles of comity.’” Read more here.
#8 “Prosecutor in 2017 Anti-Trump Protest Cases Faces 6-Month Suspension.” From Reuters: “Disciplinary officials in Washington said on Friday that a former federal prosecutor should be suspended from practicing law for six months, finding she used deceptively edited videos as evidence in criminal cases against protesters during Republican President Donald Trump’s first inauguration. The D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility recommended the sanction against Jennifer Kerkhoff Muyskens, saying a three-month suspension proposed by a board committee last year was too lenient.” Read more here.
#9 “The Rightwing Campaign to Control How US Judges View the Climate Crisis.” From The Guardian: “As cities and states sue big oil for billions in damages over allegations that it covered up the dangers of its products, rightwing organizations are attempting to discredit the wave of litigation. They claim the lawyers behind it are teaming up with an environmentally focused legal education non-profit to bias federal judges against oil companies.” Read more here.
#10 “Second Circuit Judge Agrees to More Measures on Clerk Treatment.” From Bloomberg Law: “A Second Circuit judge agreed to take additional actions to improve the work environment in her chambers, after a second complaint was filed over her conduct toward law clerks. The Second Circuit order doesn’t name the judge, but it appears to match a complaint filed by the Legal Accountability Project, an outside group that advocates for more workplace protections for law clerks, that was filed against Second Circuit Judge Sarah Merriam.” Read more here.
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Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements 🗓️
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Keep in Touch 📝
Do you have colleagues who care about legal ethics? Please share the Roundup with them. I’d love to see our community continue to grow!
News tips? Announcements? Events? A job to post? Reading recommendations? Email legalethics@substack.com – but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won’t be delivered.
Renee Knake Jefferson holds the endowed Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston. Check out more of her writing at the Legal Ethics Roundup. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @reneeknake or Bluesky at legalethics.bsky.social.
The post Legal Ethics Roundup: Judge Ross Apologizes Again, Lawyer Chesebro Reinstated In FL, 88 Deans Support Independence, Anti-Trump Protest Prosecutor Suspended, Recusal Over Family Members & More appeared first on Above the Law.
Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup,here.
Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.
Happy Monday!
Hello from Michigan! One of my favorite things about summer in Michigan is the late-evening sunset. Last week I was on the west side of the state, where the sun doesn’t set until after 9PM. I love the long days of summer.
Let’s dive into the headlines.
#1 “Judge Offers New Apology for Her In-Chambers Affair and Other Misconduct.” From The New York Times: “Renee Knake Jefferson, a law professor at the University of Houston, said that in her two decades of research on legal ethics, she could not think of any instance in which a judge was forced to rewrite an apology as part of a sanction. ‘It appears the only reason Judge Ross has been asked to redo her apology,’ she added, ‘is because of public outcry over the lack of meaningful discipline. The public deserves better from the federal judiciary and its discipline process.’” Read more here (gift link). And read her second apology below.
#2 “Former Chapman Law Dean Alleges Removal Was Driven By Sexual Orientation.” From the Daily Journal: “Paul Paton claims Chapman University ousted him as dean under the guise of scholarship-budget concerns after deciding to retreat from DEI initiatives and target him because he is gay.” Read more here.
#3 “When Must Justices Recuse Themselves Over Family Members’ Acts?” From SCOTUSblog: “Late last month, the news site NOTUS reignited the perennial debate about Supreme Court recusals when it reported that Justice Samuel Alito’s son, Philip Alito, ‘quietly landed a political appointee job as a lawyer in the Treasury Department early last year.’ The article claimed that the younger Alito’s job raised questions about his father’s ability to fairly weigh cases tied to the Treasury Department and prompted a flurry of social media posts about the court’s ethics rules.” Read more here.
#4 “Skepticism Grows Over Justice Dept.’s Vows to End $1.8 Billion Fund.” From the New York Times: “Two sets of lawyers noted that while senior department officials said the fund would not move forward, they declined to offer assurances that this would hold in the future.” Read more here (gift link).
#5 “US Appeals Court Judge Charged in Parking Lot Scuffle Faces Ethics Inquiry.” From Reuters: “A judge on the largest U.S. federal appeals court is facing a judicial misconduct inquiry after news reports over the weekend revealed that he had been criminally charged over a parking lot dispute in Idaho in April. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Murguia of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an order released on Monday,said she had initiated a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson after he was hit with misdemeanor charges of battery and malicious injury to property on April 22.” Read more here.
#6 “88 Law School Deans Unite to Support Professional Independence.” From the ABA Journal: “Eighty-eight current and former law school deans have endorsed the ‘Principles for the Independence of the Legal Profession,’ drafted by a bipartisan group of former judges, that emphasizes the need for an independent judiciary and legal profession.” Read more here.
#7 “Florida Reinstates Trump Lawyer Chesebro Despite Guilty Plea.” From Bloomberg Law: “The Florida Supreme Court allowed former Donald Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro back into practice in the state—a decision one justice criticized for going light on the litigator. The majority opinion issued Thursday said the court found itself in a dilemma. Chesebro, who pleaded guilty in Georgia, admitted to a count of ‘conspiracy to commit filing false documents’ in connection with efforts to toss the results of the 2020 presidential election. But the conviction was entered and later exonerated under Georgia’s First Offender Act and his probation was discharged. ‘This matter is unique. We have a duty to regulate the practice of law in Florida and meaningfully sanction lawyer misconduct,’ the high court’s unauthored opinion said in lifting a felony suspension imposed on Chesebro in 2024. ‘But we are also bound to respect the judgments of sister states under principles of comity.’” Read more here.
#8 “Prosecutor in 2017 Anti-Trump Protest Cases Faces 6-Month Suspension.” From Reuters: “Disciplinary officials in Washington said on Friday that a former federal prosecutor should be suspended from practicing law for six months, finding she used deceptively edited videos as evidence in criminal cases against protesters during Republican President Donald Trump’s first inauguration. The D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility recommended the sanction against Jennifer Kerkhoff Muyskens, saying a three-month suspension proposed by a board committee last year was too lenient.” Read more here.
#9 “The Rightwing Campaign to Control How US Judges View the Climate Crisis.” From The Guardian: “As cities and states sue big oil for billions in damages over allegations that it covered up the dangers of its products, rightwing organizations are attempting to discredit the wave of litigation. They claim the lawyers behind it are teaming up with an environmentally focused legal education non-profit to bias federal judges against oil companies.” Read more here.
#10 “Second Circuit Judge Agrees to More Measures on Clerk Treatment.” From Bloomberg Law: “A Second Circuit judge agreed to take additional actions to improve the work environment in her chambers, after a second complaint was filed over her conduct toward law clerks. The Second Circuit order doesn’t name the judge, but it appears to match a complaint filed by the Legal Accountability Project, an outside group that advocates for more workplace protections for law clerks, that was filed against Second Circuit Judge Sarah Merriam.” Read more here.
Did you miss the 500+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all here.
Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all here.
Do you have colleagues who care about legal ethics? Please share the Roundup with them. I’d love to see our community continue to grow!
News tips? Announcements? Events? A job to post? Reading recommendations? Email [email protected] – but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won’t be delivered.
Renee Knake Jefferson holds the endowed Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston. Check out more of her writing at the Legal Ethics Roundup. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @reneeknake or Bluesky at legalethics.bsky.social.
