US district judge Eleanor Ross reportedly also participated in a partisan political gathering
US representatives Clay Fuller and Andrew Clyde have filed impeachment resolutions against Atlanta-based US district judge Eleanor Ross, reported the Associated Press.
The calls follow the results of an investigation which revealed that Ross had engaged in sexual activity with a police officer in her chambers, participated in a partisan political gathering, and misled investigators.
Clyde wrote in a social media post that Ross was “incapable of displaying integrity or impartiality,” per a snippet published by AP News.
11th Circuit chief judge William Pryor initiated the investigation after a law clerk reported the judge’s conduct. The judge also reportedly failed to properly oversee clerks, in addition to shouting and cursing at staff.
Ross shot down the claims and suggested to Pryor that the clerk in question was retaliating over the onsite work requirement. Pryor named a special committee to further the investigation.
The committee found that the police officer had often visited Ross in uniform. Moreover, clerks told the committee that Ross rejected an invitation to lunch with summer interns after supposedly having overindulged on martinis at a district attorney friend’s primary election victory party.
Clerks also claimed that Ross failed to offer adequate guidance and rarely significantly edited clerks’ drafts of civil orders.
Ross eventually confessed that she was in an extramarital sexual relationship with the officer but denied the mistreatment accusations. She also said that while she had attended a mixer of a district attorney office’s ex-employees, it took place in a different room from the victory party.
The committee concluded that there was no evidence that Ross displayed abusive behavior. The Atlanta Police Department announced that it had launched an investigation into the officer.
The impeachment resolutions have gone to the House Judiciary Committee, which will determine whether to initiate impeachment proceedings. According to AP News, Ross had no comment per an individual who answered the phone in her chambers.
Former US president Barack Obama nominated Ross to the Northern District of Georgia in 2014. Previously, Ross was a state court judge in DeKalb County and had been a state and federal prosecutor for over 10 years.
