A federal judge identified as Atlanta-based U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross is now facing a new recusal fight after a private reprimand over an alleged chambers affair with a senior police officer exploded into national headlines.
The Department of Justice asked Ross to step aside from its lawsuit seeking Georgia election records from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, arguing public reports tying her to the misconduct case create an appearance-of-bias problem, Reuters reported. Federal prosecutors made the argument in a motion to disqualify filed Friday, pointing in part to findings that the unnamed judge also attended a partisan political event connected to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
WSB-TV reported multiple sources confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that the judge and officer referenced in the investigation are Ross and Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Kelley Collier. The station reported employees told investigators they heard sounds through chamber walls they believed were sexual encounters, including “unsettling noises,” kissing and music, over a roughly two-year period.
The official Judicial Conference order did not publicly name the judge or officer, but it affirmed findings that the subject judge had sex with a high-ranking law enforcement officer in chambers during business hours, attended a partisan political event and made material false statements when confronted.
Atlanta police said it opened an investigation to determine whether the officer referenced in the order is a department employee, while The Associated Press reported it has not independently confirmed the names. Ross’ court media office told AP she had no comment at the time.
The judge received a private reprimand and agreed to apologize to six former clerks, give up eligibility to serve as chief judge and avoid Judicial Conference committees. Georgia State University law professor Eric Segall told AP the case raises a blunt accountability question: “Who judges the judges when they act badly?”
