Judge Broke Rules by Criticizing Justice Alito During Flag Flap

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-12-20 01:19:10 | Updated at 2024-12-20 06:45:41 5 hours ago

Judge Broke Rules by Criticizing Justice Alito During Flag Flap
WSJ ^ | 12/18/24 | Jess Bravin

Posted on 12/19/2024 5:10:24 PM PST by CFW

WASHINGTON—Amid collapsing public confidence in U.S. courts, a federal judge has been found culpable of misconduct. The offense? Questioning the ethics of a Supreme Court justice.

U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor published an essay in the New York Times arguing that the display of flags associated with President-elect Donald Trump’s MAGA movement at Justice Samuel Alito’s Virginia and New Jersey homes was a breach of public trust. The piece was unusual because judges don’t typically offer personal criticisms of a colleague in public.

According to the jurist assigned to review the matter, Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., it was Ponsor who damaged the judiciary. In a previously unreported order filed last week, Diaz found that by commenting on controversial issues and criticizing Alito, Ponsor violated the code of conduct that applies to all federal judges other than Supreme Court justices.

Among other transgressions, Ponsor, a 1994 Clinton appointee who sits in Springfield, Mass., was found to violate rules against actions that “detract from the dignity” of a judge’s office and harm “public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.” The judiciary has reason to be concerned about its perception. A Gallup survey published Tuesday found that public confidence in America’s courts had fallen by 24 percentage points since 2020, to a historic low of 35%.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...

TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: ethics; judgeponsor; justicealito; scotus

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1 posted on 12/19/2024 5:10:24 PM PST by CFW

To: CFW

2 posted on 12/19/2024 5:17:30 PM PST by kenmcg (ti hi o)

To: CFW

Does anyone on SCOTUS really have any colleagues who are not on SCOTUS.

I bet you they see themselves as demi-Gods.

3 posted on 12/19/2024 5:18:56 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)

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