Judge Jerry Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has been in the news recently after Gabe Roth, the executive director of Fix the Court, filed an ethics complaint against Smith. The complaint centers around Smith telling a government attorney who wanted to remain masked during oral argument to remove his mask.

Previously, on Dec. 21, 2021, the government attorney had filed an unopposed motion to appear before the Fifth Circuit remotely, citing the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19, the fact that he has young unvaccinated kids, and that the Office of Management and Budget had issued guidance “indicating that only mission-critical travel” was recommended at that time. According to the motion, “In evaluating whether or not travel is mission-critical, agency leadership is directed to strongly consider whether the purpose of the travel can be handled remotely.”