Federal Appeals Court Pulls Dallas Judge Ada Brown’s Cases and Demands Answers

The federal appeals court that oversees Texas has taken every case away from U.S. District Judge Ada E. Brown of Dallas and ordered her to answer for releasing confidential and sealed court files to about 140 judges, lawyers and reporters, according to orders the court made public this week.

The Judicial Council of the Fifth Circuit reassigned Brown’s cases on September 29 and removed her from the rotation for new ones for three months or until further order. The council found that the evidence supported concerns about “the significant backlog of outstanding judicial actions required in Judge Brown’s cases, her abandonment of her docket, and/or her conduct indicating that she is unable and/or unwilling to discharge the duties of office.”

What the council found

The investigation began with a complaint filed May 14 by a person who appeared before Brown. A special committee of Chief Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, Circuit Judge James E. Graves Jr. and Chief District Judge Alia Moses took it up in August.

According to the council’s order, the committee found that Brown had recused herself from more than 40 cases since June 1, some after a bench trial or after the case had ended. It found that for several years she had delayed rulings and closed cases with motions still pending, leaving 78 undecided motions on a recent report. It found she had announced her intent to resign and withdrawn it at least twice since June 30, and had refused to return to work.

The committee also said there was a reasonable basis to conclude that Brown “suffers from a temporary or permanent mental condition that interferes with her ability to perform the responsibilities of her office,” and on September 21 ordered her to undergo an independent psychiatric examination. One member of the council, Chief District Judge Debra Brown, voted against reassigning the cases on procedural grounds.

The files she released

At about 1:26 a.m. on October 17, Brown answered the committee’s latest order by email. She wrote that she “decline[s] to take part in any of these proceedings,” that she had “waived all confidentiality,” and that she had sent certain orders “to the press to become public.” The committee said she attached confidential complaint files and two documents sealed by other judges in unrelated attorney-discipline cases.

Brown has said that taking part would “compromise a parallel investigation outside the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit that directly involves Chief Judge Elrod.” The committee said it does not know what investigation she means and that she has not identified it.

On October 20 the committee ordered Brown to explain in writing by 5 p.m. October 27 what that investigation is, why she released the confidential files and on what authority she released the sealed ones. It has ordered her to appear for an interview on October 30. If she refuses without good cause, the committee said, it may widen the inquiry to whether the refusal is itself misconduct.

Who can remove a federal judge

The council can take a judge’s cases away. It cannot remove her. Federal judges hold office “during good Behaviour” under Article III of the Constitution, and only Congress can remove one, through impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. Until then, Brown keeps her seat and her salary while other judges carry her cases.