A former federal public defender is asking an appellate panel to either vacate a lower court's ruling against her, or disqualify itself from deciding her sexual harassment claims against the judiciary, citing a conflict of interest stemming from the selection of judges.

In a motion filed late Friday, the woman, identified as Jane Roe, asked visiting Judges Mary Briscoe of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Ronald Lee Gilman of the Sixth Circuit and Michael Melloy of the Eighth Circuit to recuse themselves from overseeing her fight to revive her case. The three judges were selected through the judiciary's intercircuit assignment process after the entire Fourth Circuit recused.