Sexual misconduct the aim of crackdown by the federal courts

WASHINGTON – The federal courts are cracking down on sexual misconduct.

The Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets internal policies for the federal court system, adopted new workplace rules Tuesday in the wake of sexual harassment and abuse charges leveled against a prominent judge.

They were announced by Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, whose 2016 Supreme Court nomination by President Barack Obama was blocked by Senate Republicans. The changes have the endorsement of Chief Justice John Roberts, who presides over the 26-member conference.

Under the new rules, judges and federal court employees are expected to blow the whistle on alleged misconduct, including "unwanted, offensive or abusive sexual conduct" and creating a hostile work environment.

In addition, the group endorsed "an array of ways in which people can raise concerns about misconduct," Garland said. The steps are are intended to protect privacy and avoid retaliation.

Roberts in December endorsed the recommendations of a working group that found inappropriate workplace conduct among federal judges following sexual harassment allegations against federal appeals court Judge Alex Kozinski of California, who has since resigned.

"The job is not yet done," Roberts said in his 2018 year-end report. "The job is not finished until we have done all that we can to ensure that all of our employees are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect."

His assessment followed a year-long process in which the self-policing judicial branch looked inward to determine the extent of judicial misconduct in the federal court system. Garland said Tuesday the federal judiciary will continue to "police our own."

In June, the working group announced that inappropriate workplace conduct was "not limited to a few isolated instances involving law clerks," Roberts said. It concluded that misconduct "is more likely to take the form of incivility or disrespect than overt sexual harassment, and it frequently goes unreported."

The policy changes are intended to protect all court employees, but law clerks – who most often are in their 20s and work in close proximity to the judges they serve – were a particular focus.

"The very qualities that make the position of law clerk attractive – particularly, the opportunity to work with a senior member of the legal profession in a position of mentorship and trust – can create special risks of abuse," Roberts said in December.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sexual misconduct the aim of crackdown by the federal courts