Feds file misconduct complaint against Minnesota judges over immigration comments

Federal officials request these judges be recused from matters involving Homeland Security.MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — The Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint Wednesday against nearly all of Minnesota’s federal judges regarding comments they made to The New York Times over the government’s handling of immigration cases.The complaint follows a Times article published this month titled “Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns,” which focused primarily on U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz’s views on Operation Metro Surge.Six of the seven members of Minnesota’s federal bench spoke with reporters regarding the immigration crackdown, the Times says in the article.Schiltz sat with the Times for a rare 90-minute interview, where he reportedly said the Trump administration has a “disregard for court orders” — harkening back to a brief yet heated order the George W. Bush appointee issued in February.According to the Justice Department, Schiltz also told the Times the administration’s noncompliance clogged the court to a “near standstill” and posed a threat to the rule of law.“If anything is a ‘grave threat to the rule of law,’ it is judges who repeatedly and brazenly exceed their authority,” the Justice Department says in the complaint.While Schiltz attributed much of the issue to staffing shortages and “incompetence,” he reportedly warned failing to uphold the legal system risks sliding into “anarchy or… authoritarianism” — a position the Justice Department said is outrageous.Federal officials also name U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, a Bill Clinton appointee, in the complaint over a statement he made to the Times claiming immigration agents weren’t arresting, in his view, dangerous criminals.The Justice Department said Schiltz and Tunheim’s comments and conduct are “egregious” — claiming the two judges violated the Code of Judicial Conduct that ethically prohibits judges from making public comments on pending cases or political statements.“Our complaint alleges that federal judges in Minnesota used their official judicial office to pander to the press about immigration policies,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in a press release. “Judges who covet publicity rather than follow the rule of law by adjudicating cases or controversies undermine the public’s confidence in an impartial jury.”Officials note even harmless statements to the press can create a perception of bias and indicate a judge may be motivated to decide issues in a way that prompts media attention.The Justice Department requests that any judges who spoke to the Times about immigration cases recuse themselves from all current and future matters involving Homeland Security, given the concerns about impartiality.“Public confidence in judicial impartiality cannot survive if judges seek out media attention and pander to the press,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. said in the press release. “Regrettably, judges in the District of Minnesota have done just that — by disregarding their ethical duties and launching a partisan press campaign, these judges advance their policy preference, allowing criminal illegal aliens to run free in Minnesota.”Federal officials note many key immigration cases and criminal prosecutions against “anti-immigration enforcement agitators” are currently active or on appeal to the Eighth Circuit, making the judges’ public comments especially inappropriate.The feds go even further to turn the blame for a judicial backlog back on the bench, referencing an Eighth Circuit decision that reversed the legal interpretation many Minnesota judges had on detention.“As a matter of Eighth Circuit precedent, the flood of habeas petitions alleging a statutory violation and the resulting drain on government resources that led to several instances of unintentional noncompliance with court orders was the result of these and other district judges’ own legal errors,” the Justice Department says in the complaint.The complaint is addressed directly to Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Steven Colloton, a Bush appointee, of the Eighth Circuit, which will handle the review and investigation into the supposed improper conduct of Minnesota judges.Throughout Operation Metro Surge and in the following months, judges in Minnesota have been flooded with a mass of petitions from those challenging their detentions. Schiltz previously threatened Trump administration officials with contempt over violating court orders in such cases.“As legal-ethics experts have confirmed, our judges were acting well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to The New York Times,” Rebeccah Parks, a District of Minnesota public information officer, told Courthouse News in a statement Wednesday. “Indeed, in February of this year, the Committee on Codes of Conduct issued an advisory opinion to emphasize that federal judges may ‘speak and write on core judiciary matters such as advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence.’ Our judges acted within this capacity."Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads