No Impeachment Expected For Ga. Judge After GOP Letter

The Legal Accountability Project’s President and Founder Aliza Shatzman spoke with Law360 about House Judiciary Republicans’ letter to Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor demanding information about the suspiciously light punishment imposed upon Judge Eleanor Ross, the Georgia federal judge who had sex in her chambers with a law enforcement officer, in earshot of clerks, and then lied to the court about it.

"I was glad to see this letter, with the caveat that it would have been nice to include House Judiciary Democrats, but it's good that they are finally flexing their constitutionally mandated oversight authority," Shatzman said. "This is the job of the House Judiciary Committee."

Shatzman said the Committee in both Democratic and Republican hands in recent years has shown "a disturbing lack of oversight over the judiciary."

She said she doubts Judge Pryor will respond to the letter, but it's important to ask questions.

"This Eleanor Ross matter is still top of mind for me and my large nationwide constituency at the Legal Accountability Project. People are disturbed by the outrageous lack of accountability in this matter," Shatzman said. "It threatens public trust and confidence in a fair, impartial and ethical judiciary when judges who commit gross misconduct like Eleanor Ross are not punished."