Judges Judging Judges: The Federal Judicial Misconduct Statutes and the Breyer Committee Report

Abstract:     
The Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980 ushered in a new process for dealing with judicial misconduct – one of "decentralized self-regulation." In 2002 Congress amended the Act and also gave the judicial misconduct provisions their own chapter in the United States Code, Chapter 16. This article examines the procedures by which the judiciary handles complaints of misconduct by judges and surveys the record of the results in part by focusing on the findings of a committee chaired by Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 10

Keywords: Federal judicial Misconduct Statutes, Breyer Committee Report, Judicial Misconduct, Judicial Procedure, Federal Judges, Judicial Ethics, Self-Regulation, National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, Rulemaking, United States Code Chapter 16

JEL Classification: K39, K49

Accepted Paper Series