In a prior post, we wrote about how the complaint identified by the Federal Circuit against Judge Pauline Newman should be transferred to another circuit for review and adjudication.

Why is that? Because the judges you work most closely with should not be a part of the council that determines whether or not you’ve committed misconduct.

Transfers can happen under Rule 26 of the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings:

“In exceptional circumstances, a chief judge or a judicial council may ask the Chief Justice to transfer a proceeding based on a complaint […] to the judicial council of another circuit. The request for a transfer may be made at any stage of the proceeding before a reference to the Judicial Conference […]. Upon receiving such a request, the Chief Justice may refuse the request or select the transferee judicial council, which may then exercise the powers of a judicial council under these Rules.”

Of course, Chief Justice Roberts could decline the transfer. But we think he should be asked — and that such a transfer request should be granted.

What’s more, if it takes longer than a year to adjudicate a complaint after a special committee is appointed, we believe the transfer should be automatic, as detailed in our prior post.

And if the allegation is especially grievous, we think transfer should be automatic — think sexual harassment or retaliation.

Transferring the Newman complaint would not be without precedent. Here’s a list of those we have links for:

— Complaint against Judges Pryor and Maze transferred from Eleventh Circuit to the Second Circuit (2021, described here)
— Complaint against two unidentified circuit judges transferred from unknown circuit to the Third Circuit (2020)
— Complaint against Justice Kavanaugh transferred from the D.C. Circuit to the Eleventh Circuit (2019)
— Complaint against Justice Kavanaugh transferred from the D.C. Circuit to the Tenth Circuit (2018)
— Complaint against Judge Kozinski transferred from the Ninth Circuit to the Second Circuit (2017)
— Complaint against Judge Roberts transferred from the D.C. Circuit to the Tenth Circuit (2016)
— Complaint against Judge Jones transferred from the Fifth Circuit to the D.C. Circuit (2013)
— Complaint against Judge Kozinski transferred from the Ninth Circuit to the Third Circuit (2008)

Per the 2006 Breyer Committee report, Committee staff “identified eight instances since 1980 in which the Chief Justice designated a circuit judge to handle a complaint in another circuit pursuant to the intercircuit assignment statute,” p. 121.

That makes 16 transfers in total. We asked SCOTUS on Sept. 30 if they keep track of them to see if others have taken place.

We await a response.