A federal judge under investigation for misconduct emailed confidential and sealed court papers to about 140 people in an early morning message, according to a new court order.
A Judicial Council for the Fifth Circuit order Tuesday revealed the scope of US District Judge Ada Brown’s disclosure, which publicly confirmed the existence of a misconduct investigation into her conduct. The email also included sealed court papers in apparently unrelated lawyer disciplinary matters.
“The Committee has since learned that Judge Brown sent these documents to approximately 140 judges, lawyers, and members of the press,” Tuesday’s order reads. Bloomberg Law was one of the recipients of Brown’s email.
Brown didn’t immediately return a request for comment sent to her personal email. A message sent to her federal courts email address was returned as “undeliverable.”
The order was issued by the members of the special committee stood up to investigate Brown, a Donald Trump appointee sitting in the Northern District of Texas’s Dallas division.
The committee — consisting of Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit Judge James Graves Jr., and Chief Judge Alia Moses of the Western District of Texas — also publicly asked Brown to reconsider her decision to not participate in the proceedings against her.
Brown had been ordered to appear before the committee on Oct. 30 and was told she’d have certain rights at that hearing, including to present evidence and arguments.
“The Committee implores Judge Brown to exercise these rights and comply with the Committee’s investigation,” the Tuesday order states. “If she refuses, the Committee must proceed with its obligation to file a report of its investigation, including findings and recommendations for action by the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council, without the benefit of Judge Brown’s response.”
The committee might also need to expand the scope of its investigation to determine if Brown’s refusal to participate itself constitutes further misconduct, according to the order.
The committee ordered Brown to answer questions about her disclosure of confidential materials related to her misconduct proceeding and the sealed court papers, and about an unspecified “parallel investigation” she’s cited in declining to participate. The order gives Brown an Oct. 27 deadline to respond.