By Manny Marotta

Fix the Court is applauding the dismissal by Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeff Sutton of three frivolous misconduct complaints (first, second, third) filed against D.D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg.

Sutton’s dismissal orders serve as an important affirmation of judicial independence and proper standards for evaluating misconduct allegations.

Only one of the three was appealed, but we’re confident that the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council will uphold Sutton’s decision, as the underlying complaint lacks a basis for disciplinary action.

We also welcome D.C. Circuit Sri Srinivasan’s decision to ask Chief Justice Roberts to transfer the complaints for review outside of the building in which Boasberg, Srinivasan and the D.C. Circuit’s judicial council all work.

Complaints against circuit judges, or against judges who share courthouses with circuit judges, should be handled by an external body to avoid potential conflicts.

In the end, these complaints are unfortunately part of a broader trend of politically motivated actions against judges (the second complaint above was filed by DOJ) over their rulings, which, under the misconduct law, is not a basis for filing a complaint.

The proper method to “complain” about a ruling is via appeal.

Such superficial filings risk turning the judicial misconduct system into a partisan battlefield rather than a mechanism for addressing genuine ethical breaches.