There is a bizarre controversy out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, where a federal judge has been reprimanded for engaging in repeated, loud sexual encounters during office hours in chambers with a police officer. While the judge lied to investigators and disrupted the work of court staff, the Eleventh Circuit decided to give only a “private reprimand” and to withhold the identity of the district court judge. However, legal sleuths have pieced together clues and identified one judge in Atlanta as the likely culprit.
In February, the Judicial Council issued an order with a “private reprimand.” The order contained an array of details that law professor John Blackman analyzed with impressive research. While he admits that he cannot conclusively prove that she is the referenced judge, he declared that “there is only one judge who checks all of those boxes: District Court Judge Eleanor Ross.”
Ironically, among the clues about the judge’s identity, the order mentions that the judge attended the “victory party for a District Attorney” in 2024, the night before “the judge’s summer interns’ first day.” The Georgia primary was on May 21, 2024, and the date coincides with the victory party for Fani Willis, who won the Democratic primary for Fulton County District Attorney. The irony would be crushing since Willis destroyed her own case against Trump and his associates after appointing an attorney with whom she had a sexual relationship.
Putting the judge’s identity aside, I am more concerned with the Circuit’s conclusion that the judge should be left with a private, anonymous reprimand, given the astonishing scope of the misconduct found by the Judicial Council.
The Court describes repeated sexual encounters during office hours that were so audible that clerks and staff were left in uncomfortable silence. The other individual is described as “a high-ranking PD officer.” The court states that
“It is also worth noting the fact that the Subject Judge created a vulnerability to extortion. For two years, the Subject Judge was a federal district judge who routinely heard criminal cases engaged in a secret extramarital relationship with a prominent officer of a large law enforcement agency in the judge’s district—with the affair consisting of sexual intercourse in the Subject Judge’s chambers during working hours.”
The Court describes the awkward moments as staff were subjected to moans and noises from the judge’s chambers as these trysts took place. The court recounts:
“The Subject Judge characterized the allegations as ‘outrageous’ and ‘baseless’ and specifically denied each one.11 Apparently aware that Law Clerk A was the source of the allegations, the Subject Judge noted that the judge had repeatedly chastised Law Clerk A for performance issues, including ‘being on [the clerk’s] cell phone in court and in the office,’ ‘arriving to the office late,’ and wearing attire that the judge considered ‘too casual.’ The Subject Judge implied that Law Clerk A might have made allegations as a means of retaliating against the Subject Judge.”
So this judge not only lied but attacked the clerk. The court order contained emails and communications in which the judge states that the clerk is disgruntled and unreliable. The result was an investigation as the judge continues to lie about the long-standing affair.
The other individual is described solely as a high-ranking police officer.
This is an extraordinary and serious series of ethical violations. It directly undermined the integrity of the court and created a dysfunctional work environment. The officer and the department are likely parties in cases before the court. The judge must be independent in dealing with officers and the department. The use of the chambers for sexual encounters must have created a hostile work environment for many clerks and staff.
Then there are the repeated lies to fellow judges and investigators. Lying to federal investigators can be a crime under 18 U.S.C. 1001, and such cases can come before this judge.
All of this leaves me baffled about the decision to enter a private reprimand. The judge agrees not to serve as Chief Judge or take positions on judicial committees. Yet the judge is allowed to continue to perform that most important function of being a judge. More importantly, counsel and parties are left without confirmation of the judge’s identity. There are myriad cases in which a judge could have a conflict of interest. Parties should be able to raise such conflicts rather than be left wondering if they have “that judge” in random assignments.
The use of court property for sexual liaisons with a police officer and then lying about it should warrant a bit more than an anonymous order, private reprimand, and a waiving of future positions. This judge, who has shown serious ethical concerns, will continue to render judgments on others.
If an officer had repeatedly lied to the court, would the contempt citation for the individual be anonymous with only voluntary waivers of future positions?
In the end, determining the identity of the judge is less challenging than the reasoning of the Judicial Council.
Here is the opinion: Eleventh Circuit Order
Lawyers get in deep trouble for any kind of sexual thing that comes into the light – but a judge can sex a cop loudly in courthouse and it’s not even a public scold? Incredible double standard
Sal Sar
Bill Clinton set the standard, the new normative.
Why doesn’t Congress impeach her
It’s not an actual crime I’m guessing. Adultery, fornication are religious crimes known as sins. Sinning in a publicly owned building? Lying to investigators can be prosecuted but lying about a sin isn’t quite the same as lying about embezzlement etc. Bill Clinton is similar.
I’m not a lawyer at home nor on tv btw.
^^^^ HOWEVER, while it could not be seen, it was overheard. Public indecency, lewd behavior are crimes. Certainly misconduct and possibly actual crimes as misdemeanors or felony because it was repeated.
Clerk C is most likely suing civilly. She was fearful.
The DOJ is currently asking for her recusal, The Hill.
Professor Turley,
What integrity are we even talking about in our courts or the bar anymore?
While you rightly call out this Eleventh Circuit judge for loud sexual trysts in chambers, lying to investigators, and receiving nothing more than a quiet private reprimand, many of us in Virginia have lived through far worse from members of your own Virginia State Bar.
In my case, senior partners at a BigLaw Fairfax firm — people who sit on the Virginia State Bar’s ethics committees, Disciplinary Board, and have served as Bar presidents — defended a DC-area Federal Reserve member bank that forged checks, manufactured discovery documents, laundered money through client lines of credit, slandered my credit, and destroyed my small business.
My own attorney (who had clerked for the mediator) pushed a rigged mediation, then joined the defense firm and made partner in two months. The conflicts were blatant and undisclosed. The bar did nothing. The system protected its own.
You write powerfully about judicial and legal ethics. Yet when Virginia Bar members enable bank fraud and cover-ups against small business owners and constituents, there’s silence from those inside the club.
What integrity?
This isn’t about one judge having sex in chambers. It’s about a legal profession that routinely shields serious corruption when big money is involved — and then acts shocked when the public loses all trust.
Virginians (and Americans) are watching.
Obviously, Mr. Turley, you have not met Jersey City’ DEI Princess named Karen DeSoto.
https://nypost.com/2005/06/14/wiseguy-blasts-ex-moll-pol-she-took-him-for-1-2m-he-testifies-in-court/
https://nypost.com/2005/05/18/pol-was-a-moll-wiseguys-suit-hot-shot-lover-ripped-me-off/
nypost.com/2005/06/16/hoods-bankrupt-ex-wails-over-133g-debt/
She managed to get a job of municipal court judge, and currently (“allegedly”) runs $10M racket of ticket fixing for slumlords. Together with fellow DEI judge named Ramy Eid. She assigns all slumlord cases to herself, and then dismisses them at the end of specific day when no one is in the courtroom. Of help is Jake Hudnut, DEI gay prosecutor, who claims he is not capable to lookup at LLC registrations to discover whom actually drag to court. (You may want to look up at total Gayville at Jersey City municipal prosecutor’s office.)
She assigned to herself a criminal case of an illegal alien, with whom she was a co-defendant in 1983 civil case at the same time. Illegal alien was provided with city lawyer in civil case!
DeSoto’s stunts are well known in Trenton and chief justice Stuart Rabner refuses to audit outstanding ethics complaints against her, because he don’t want it to hit the ceiling fan.
More evidence that our courts are the most corrupt organization in the world. This was nothing. Multi-billion dollar cases are decided by these criminals donning black nightgowns daily. They preside over cases their colleagues bring before them that are worth more than GM, Ford, and Toyota ARE WORTH COMBINED.
They hid the identity of this judge and her paramour over the screams and groans of ecstatic pleasure. “They” being those in charge of the discipline of judges.
Bear in mind THIS MASSIVE joke: Judges are required to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. If they blocked accountability over this repeated tryst, to what lengths will they go to hide theft (we’re talking billions and billions of dollars.)
“Altogether, the Judiciary has nearly 500 designated professionals across national, circuit, and
local levels providing confidential guidance on workplace conduct concerns, as well as
supporting various training and programmatic efforts.”
If an ordinary boob spots violations popping up everywhere, professionals can’t? We are in deep, deep, doo doo, boys and girls.
Black privilege. Democrat privilige. Banana republic.
Does this answer your question, Prof Turley?
Seinfeld’s character George Costanza when caught having sex with the cleaning lady at work responded [paraphrased]:
“…there was nothing in the employee handbook saying you couldn’t do that, should I have not done that?”
He asked, “Was that wrong?”
The Judicial Report is absent pages 15 and 16 regarding clerk C feeling fearful.
The missing cushion trick is Matlock. Recall the episode in the hotel when the desk chairs were switched?
Ross was humiliated. Most dreadful case, perhaps it was a nudge to resign?
Carpe diem
The Judicial Report really is soft gloves. Euphemisms for lying are part of legal language as falsities, untruths, lack of candor. If the lying had obstructed proceedings or the recant was after the subject knew the untruth, falsity would be exposed , subject could be prosecuted. Subject waited 6 months because she was seeking counsel. Sure…
28 USC section ? Are complaints.
Things such as fornication, adultery, extra-marital affairs aren’t part of the complaint except they were in a public place and clerks were subjected to participate.
Clerk A searched subject judge office for the stained cushion so these clerks had a little hotbed going on. When does a clerk think or feel it’s her duty to search a judge’s office? The subject judge was ordered by the committee report not to banter with staff and clerks. Do not fraternize with the hired help? Good advice.
Adultery isn’t a crime unless it’s part of another crime nor is homosexuality, fornication etc. Fani hired her adulter and Bill Clinton was also in a public place setting the standard.
What happened to the PD officer?
Judge Ross allowed 50, ooo ballots to move through stopping Secretary of State Kemp, held Chrisley case wife for 7 year sentence miscounted and DJT pardoned them?
Ethics? It’s a matter of reason and not morals. There’s good reason not to have affairs in your workplace in the office or out. These are very high offices with very high standards.
My op
They get paid to have sex!( Work hours) WOW
Where can I, or any other regular Joe, or Jill, get this kind of job? Asking for a friend.
It was during lunch hours. Duty free lunch hours are off the clock. Adultery just isn’t a crime. If the clerks had not heard it who’d know? It’s a prisoner’s dilemma schema. Highly exportable, blackmail, coercive and very bad for work ambiance but no worse than having a coworker you hate.
Fornication, Adultery, homosexuality are sins but not crimes. Religion isn’t part of law going or coming. Pedophilia, minors, rape, coercion are crimes.
Poor judgement is not good behavior and the location is publicly owned. 😏. The justice is after death. There are those sincerely believing that and Jesus said to the woman- your faith has made it so. I didn’t do it. So we know man’s dreams of punishment do come true. Jesus tried to fix that by saying, forgive them but people don’t.
Good luck. Hahaha…
Looks like the “unindicted co-conspirator” is Deputy Chief Kelley Collier of the Atlanta Police Department.
https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/us-news/cop-who-had-loud-sex-with-judge-in-chambers-idd-as-deputy-chief-with-atlanta-police-report/