WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) has filed a judicial complaint against U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy of Rhode Island for unprofessional, emotional, and inappropriate conduct against Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys in a power struggle with another federal court. According to the complaint, her “actions go beyond the bounds of acceptable condemnation by a judge and cross into partisan vengefulness.”
The issue stems from litigation involving an administrative subpoena issued by the DOJ to Rhode Island Hospital seeking records related to gender-transition procedures performed on minors. After Rhode Island Hospital failed in its efforts to block the subpoena in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, McElroy inserted herself into the dispute.
As the complaint, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, states, “Based on Judge McElroy’s blinded—and perhaps biased—reading of the record, she accused the DOJ lawyers of ‘[dis]honorable conduct,’ stated they were ‘unworthy of [] trust,’ alleged they were executing their duties with ‘an improper purpose in bad faith,’ fabricated that the DOJ was lying to the court to curry ‘its political positions,’ then referred the DOJ attorneys to the court’s disciplinary committee in a one-sentence text order.”
With these actions, the complaint argues she violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges by compromising the appearance of impartiality, allowing partisan considerations to influence judicial conduct, and improperly targeting attorneys appearing before the court as part of a broader conflict with another federal court.
“CASA is filing a judicial complaint against the unprofessional Rhode Island District Court Judge Mary McElroy for the inappropriate and inaccurate excoriations she made on the record against attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice,” said CASA official Curtis Schube.
“Not only did McElroy make these damaging and false statements, but she followed them up with a vindictive referral of these DOJ attorneys to the District of Rhode Island’s disciplinary committee. Engaging in a power struggle with another court through government attorneys is wholly inappropriate conduct for a federal judge, which warrants a full investigation.”
About CASA
The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the safety and security of the American people. CASA educates and informs the public about the actions of their government and its officials that impact their safety; peace and security; democracy, civil rights, and civil liberties; and privacy.