Key facts
- U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross was disciplined for having sex in her chambers with a police officer.
- Ross was also found to have lied to investigators about the allegations.
- She attended a partisan event.
- Ross wrote a letter apologizing for her 'harmful, offensive, and unprofessional behavior.'
- Ross received a private reprimand and agreed to write apology letters to six former law clerks.
- Impeachment resolutions have been filed against Ross by two Georgia congressmen.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross has apologized for 'harmful, offensive, and unprofessional behavior' after an investigation confirmed she had sex with a high-ranking police officer in her chambers and lied about it. The investigation, initiated by Chief Judge William Pryor of the 11th Circuit, also found that Ross attended a partisan event.
Ross, nominated to the bench in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, initially denied the allegations. She speculated that a law clerk who reported the incidents may have invented them in retaliation for being required to work in the office. However, a review of logs and security footage supported the claims, with multiple clerks recalling overhearing what may have been sexual activity and one clerk recalling the judge admitting to having too many martinis at a victory party.