{"id":163247,"date":"2026-09-21T09:12:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T17:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/21\/legal-ethics-roundup-judge-warns-of-threat-to-democracy-ai-slop-harms-extend-beyond-fake-cites-philly-da-referred-for-investigation-new-bill-aims-to-end-stealth-impeachments-amp\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T17:12:03","slug":"legal-ethics-roundup-judge-warns-of-threat-to-democracy-ai-slop-harms-extend-beyond-fake-cites-philly-da-referred-for-investigation-new-bill-aims-to-end-stealth-impeachments-amp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/21\/legal-ethics-roundup-judge-warns-of-threat-to-democracy-ai-slop-harms-extend-beyond-fake-cites-philly-da-referred-for-investigation-new-bill-aims-to-end-stealth-impeachments-amp\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Ethics Roundup: Judge Warns Of Threat To Democracy, AI Slop Harms Extend Beyond Fake Cites, Philly DA Referred For Investigation, New Bill Aims To End \u2018Stealth Impeachments\u2019 & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed. note<\/u>: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup,\u00a0<\/strong>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Monday!<\/h3>\n

Summer is over, but I\u2019m still chasing sunsets on the weekends. Any guesses about where I found this one?<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m also chasing legal ethics headlines, so let\u2019s dive right in.<\/p>\n

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Highlights from Last Week \u2013 Top Ten Headlines \ud83d\udcf0<\/h3>\n

#1 \u201cTrump\u2019s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIn a rare interview,\u00a0Patrick Schiltz<\/strong>, who served as the federal court\u2019s chief judge last winter, called the administration\u2019s actions \u2018a grave threat to the rule of law.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#2 \u201cRefusing to Investigate a Judicial Controversy Lowers the Bar for Federal Judges.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Steven Lubet\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0The Hill:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cAs chief judge of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals,\u00a0William H. Pryor<\/strong>\u00a0has the unenviable task of receiving misconduct complaints against federal judges in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. In theory, he must take every complaint seriously, without deference to the subject judge. In the recent case against\u00a0District Judge Roy K. Altman<\/strong>, however, Pryor issued a\u00a0quick dismissal<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0without meaningful consideration of significant issues. His failure to initiate an investigation set a regrettable example for the entire federal judiciary.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#3 \u201cPossible Deal Reached for Detroit Judge Who Had Sleepy Teen Detained.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From the\u00a0Detroit Free Press:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA Detroit judge who in 2024<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0had a teen girl detained after she fell asleep on a field trip to his courtroom saw his\u00a0misconduct hearing abruptly halted<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0this week, with the state\u2019s oversight body for judges and the Michigan Supreme Court now set to weigh a possible deal to close the case. Currently, the details of the deal for\u00a036th District Judge Kenneth King<\/strong>\u00a0are not public.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#4 \u201cWarren Demands Stronger Ethics Pact From Top IRS Lawyer Pick.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Bloomberg Law :\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSen. Elizabeth Warren<\/strong>\u00a0(D-Mass.) demanded a more stringent ethics pledge from IRS chief counsel nominee\u00a0Jim Gadwood<\/strong>, who disclosed ties to a company linked to\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/strong>. The private attorney filed with little detail a financial disclosure that DJT Holdings LLC, a firm linked to Trump, was a source of compensation exceeding $5,000 in a year for \u2018Legal services.\u2019 \u2018And when asked by my staff, you have refused to provide additional information as to whether you personally represented the President or his interests,\u2019 Warren\u00a0wrote in the letter shared by her office<\/a><\/strong>.<\/a>\u00a0Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#5 \u201c\u2018AI Slop\u2019 Decried by Florida Appellate Court: \u2018Counsel\u2019s Lengthy and Unfocused Filings Contain Gibberish.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The Volokh Conspiracy:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFrom Wednesday\u2019s decision by\u00a0Florida Court of Appeal Justice Gross<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Lisandrillo v. Palozzi<\/a><\/strong>: \u2018We deny the extraordinary writ petition seeking review in this dissolution of marriage case and write solely to address counsel\u2019s filing of what appears to be AI slop. Counsel\u2019s lengthy and unfocused filings contain gibberish and abuse the litigation process in different ways\u2014including by churning out convoluted, false, and frivolous arguments. The AI slop problem we address here has nothing to do with hallucinated law or false legal citations. The citations are real. The cases exist. The language is confident. Yet the analytical reasoning\u2014or lack of it\u2014reveals that the arguments were assembled by an AI tool rather than developed through a trained advocate\u2019s independent judgment.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#6 \u201cBlanche\u2019s Political Campaigning Breaks an Ethical Norm Going Back to Watergate.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cAttorney General Todd Blanche<\/strong>\u00a0has repeatedly participated in campaign events and spoken in partisan terms about the coming midterm elections since his confirmation last month, despite criticism that he violated a longstanding Justice Department principle of steering clear of electoral politics. This week he waded again into those waters \u2014 twice.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#7 \u201cFla. Judge Ends Recusal Bid in Fontainebleau Defamation Suit.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Law360:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA federal magistrate judge in Florida has rejected an attempt to have her disqualified from Fontainebleau Florida Hotel LLC\u2019s defamation suit, saying the defendant \u2018lied in wait\u2019 with his claims until he received an adverse ruling.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#8 \u201cJudge Refers Philadelphia District Attorney to Federal Prosecutors for Investigation.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From the\u00a0Associated Press:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA federal judge referred Philadelphia\u00a0District Attorney Larry Krasner<\/strong>\u00a0to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for investigation into whether he broke the law while overseeing a post-conviction case.\u00a0U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond<\/strong>\u00a0disqualified Krasner and\u00a0Assistant DA Matthew Stiegler<\/strong>from participating in the case involving\u00a0Dennis Johnson<\/strong>, who is seeking to have his second-degree murder conviction overturned. Diamond also took the unusual step of recommending that the DOJ investigate whether Krasner committed any crimes, including perjury and obstruction of justice, according to court documents.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#9<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cFix the Court Endorses Rep. Fitzgerald\u2019s Legislation to Improve Judicial Misconduct Law, End \u2018Stealth Impeachments.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Gabe Roth<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0Fix the Court:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFix the Court today is praising the\u00a0work<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0Rep. Scott Fitzgerald<\/strong>\u00a0for introducing a nonpartisan bill to modernize the judicial misconduct process in the lower federal courts. His Judicial Conduct and Disability Reform Act (H.R.10390;\u00a0text here<\/a><\/strong>) would reduce inherent conflicts in the process, permit judicial review of suspension orders and ensure that \u2018stealth impeachments\u2019 are a thing of the past, among other valuable provisions. Most importantly, the bill would limit the length of \u2018temporary\u2019 suspensions of judges permitted under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act (28 U.S.C. 354(a)(2)(A)(i)<\/a><\/strong>) to two years. After that point, a subject judge would be reinstated, though the complaint record would ultimately be sent to the House to decide whether to proceed with impeachment.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#10 John Eastman in the News.\u00a0<\/strong>We will close out the list of ten with two headlines on\u00a0John Eastman<\/strong>. First, coverage from\u00a0Reuters<\/strong>\u00a0on the cert petition I mentioned in\u00a0last week\u2019s LER<\/a><\/strong>: \u201cJohn Eastman asks US Supreme Court to undo disbarment over Trump election efforts.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. Second, more coverage from\u00a0Reuters<\/strong>: \u201cTrump ally John Eastman joins UPenn professor\u2019s legal team, citing \u2018despicable cancel culture.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On My Calendar\u00a0<\/strong>\ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f<\/h3>\n

If you happen to be in Houston this week, please join me at the\u00a0University of Houston Law Center<\/strong>\u00a0in our beautiful new building for a special event. UHLC is teaming up with\u00a0The American Law Institute<\/strong>\u00a0to host a conversation with\u00a0Texas Supreme Court Justice J. Brett Busby<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0ALI President Wallace B. Jefferson<\/strong>\u00a0(yes, my husband), moderated by\u00a0Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas<\/strong>. The event is\u00a0Thursday, September 24, from 5:30-7:30PM<\/strong>. Learn more and RSVP at this\u00a0link<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those of you traveling to Singapore in\u00a0December<\/strong>\u00a0to attend the\u00a0International Legal Ethics Conference<\/a><\/strong>, the official schedule is now posted\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. There will be nearly 150 attendees, with three plenaries and ten sets of breakout sessions (each with 5-6 panels) over the three days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking for other upcoming ethics events?<\/strong>You\u2019ll find a list\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Get Hired \ud83d\udcbc<\/h3>\n

Did you miss the 600+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Keep in Touch \ud83d\udcdd<\/h3>\n