What is judicial misconduct?

Judicial misconduct includes many different types of conduct. For example, misconduct may include yelling at court users/attorneys, hearing a case in which the judge has a conflict of interest or talking about a case with one party while the other party and/or that party’s lawyer is out of the room (i.e. “ex parte” conversation). For this reason, complaints filed with the committee should include not only the name of the judge, but a detailed description of the alleged misconduct, including the date(s) on which it happened and any witnesses to the alleged misconduct. In addition, complaint filers may provide any documents they believe relevant to the complaint. Complaint filers are encouraged to provide their contact information (e.g. address, telephone number) on the complaint form so the committee’s staff may communicate with the complaint filer, if necessary.