“Retired Judges Say DOJ’s Ethics Complaint Is Meritless”

Courtney Bublé reports Retired Judges Say DOJ’s Ethics Complaint Is Meritless – Law360 (Oct. 20, 2026).

A coalition of 61 retired federal judges has admonished the U.S. Department of Justice for filing a complaint against federal judges in Minnesota for speaking to a newspaper about the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in their state.

“Although the Code of Conduct for United States Judges prohibits judges from commenting on pending cases, Canon 4 of the Code not only permits but also expressly encourages judges to speak out in circumstances such as those that Judge Schiltz and his colleagues detailed,” Keep Our Republic’s Article III Coalition said in a statement issued on Monday.

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The statement cited an advisory opinion issued earlier this year from the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct that says, a “judge may choose to engage in a wide range of civic engagement activities, including speaking and writing on core judiciary matters such as advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence.”

Id.

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For more on the Coalition, please see Commentary: “Ex-Judges See ‘Grave Threat in Trump Official’s ‘War’ Talk” And “Senate Committee to Investigate Impeachment of Judges”(Nov. 16, 2025).

For more information from Law360 (paywall), please see:

• J. Karp, DOJ Accuses Judges Of Ethics Violations With Press Remarks – Law360 (Sep. 30, 2026);
• J. Overley, Judiciary Issues ‘Rule Of Law’ Ethics Guidance For Judges – Law360 (Feb. 13, 2026).