The Legal Accountability Project Applauds Introduction of TRUST Act to Restore Trust in the Federal Courts

Thursday, May 1, 2025

For Immediate Release

Contact: Aliza Shatzman, 267-481-2095, aliza.shatzman@legalaccountabilityproject.org

The Legal Accountability Project Applauds Introduction of TRUST Act to Restore Trust in the Federal Courts

Due to a troubling loophole in the federal judicial complaint process, judges can evade accountability for misconduct by stepping down. No longer, if Congress acts. 

Today, Congress took an important step toward rooting out misconduct in the federal courts. Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet, introduced the Transparency and Responsibility in Upholding Standards in the Judiciary (“TRUST”) Act, which would close the loophole in the Judicial Conduct & Disability Act that currently allows judges who commit misconduct to avoid discipline by retiring or resigning. 

“The Legal Accountability Project has long advocated for Congress to close the troubling loophole that allows judges to step down to evade accountability,” said LAP’s President and Founder Aliza Shatzman. “Particularly in light of former Minnesota bankruptcy judge Kesha Tanabe’s recent resignation, likely to evade discipline, we applaud Rep. Johnson’s efforts to introduce the TRUST Act, a common-sense fix that will foster greater trust among judiciary employees, lawyers, and the public in the courts.”

Misconduct complaints by law clerks against judges are disturbingly rare: only 2 were filed in 2024, 3 in 2023, and just one in 2022. 

“Given how rarely judicial law clerks are empowered to file misconduct complaints against judges, the judiciary should do everything in its power to fully investigate each complaint, even if the judge leaves the bench,” Shatzman added. “LAP is grateful for Rep. Johnson’s leadership, and we urge all members of Congress to support the TRUST Act.” 

In no other workplace does a perpetrator’s departure conclude the investigation into their misconduct. The current judicial discipline system, whereby abusive judges are encouraged to retire or resign quietly–pensions, reputations, and careers intact–is a bandaid over a bullet hole that enables the federal judiciary to avoid responsibility for systemic issues that enable misconduct to persist in their ranks. 

Shatzman added: “We must hold Congress’s feet to the fire and insist they pass the TRUST Act this year, a common-sense, non-partisan fix. We cannot allow common-sense bills like this to languish on the Hill, nor can we allow Congress to put this off because it’s ‘too hard’ or other priorities are ‘more urgent.’ Nothing is more urgent and fundamental to the rule of law than ensuring judges who interpret the law are held to basic standards of workplace conduct.”

Judicial accountability is not a partisan issue: Both Democratic and Republican judicial appointees mistreat their clerks; and both liberal and conservative clerks are harassed with no recourse. LAP urges members of Congress across the ideological spectrum to support this common-sense solution. 

The TRUST Act would finally give mistreated law clerks the confidence that their complaints will be taken seriously and robustly investigated, even if the judge steps down to evade accountability. LAP urges all members of Congress to help restore trust in the courts by supporting the TRUST Act.