'Issues That Have to Be Addressed': New Study Finds Flaws in Reporting Federal Judicial Sexual Misconduct
"Chambers is a very private space," retired U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin said. "Each judge has five or six employees in their own private space, and there's no one supervising a judge. They are on their own. It's hard to take on such a person."
July 24, 2024 at 04:08 PM
6 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
What You Need to Know
- A Federal Judicial Center report found shortcomings in court-mandated employment dispute resolution or EDR plans.
- Lack of EDR compensatory damages for federal judicial misconduct may discourage some employees from filing complaints.
- Only 26% of federal judiciary websites meet employment dispute resolution guidelines.
The sudden resignation of an Alaska federal district judge under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations is a microcosm of a larger problem, according to a congresswoman who helped commission a report into the matter.
"No American should suffer sexual misconduct, abuse, or harassment while on the job, yet it continues even in the halls of our judicial system where decisions about every aspect of our lives are made," U.S. Rep. Norma Torres, D-California, has said in a press statement. "The era of judges abusing their power and taking comfort in an environment that rewards silence and fear are over."
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