On Saturday, Fix the Court filed a misconduct complaint against Ninth Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson following a parking lot confrontation in Idaho Falls, Idaho, that resulted in a criminal battery charge.

On April 2, Judge Nelson was involved in a dispute over a parking space. According to police records and surveillance video (screencap at right; Nelson is in the hat), the confrontation escalated after another individual criticized Nelson’s parking. The video appears to show Nelson removing the person’s eyeglasses and throwing them across the parking lot, stomping on the glasses, grabbing at the individual’s phone and repeatedly calling the person an “asshole.”

Nelson’s attorney has said the judge will address the charges through Idaho’s judicial system, but the criminal case is only part of the story. Federal judges have ethical obligations on and off the bench, and we argue that Nelson’s conduct violated Canon 1 of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges, which requires judges to maintain high standards of conduct. A federal judge does not stop being a federal judge when he leaves the courthouse.

We’re also concerned about the two-month delay between the April incident and its public disclosure in June.

This echoes an incident earlier this year when we learned about a DUI charge against E.D. Michigan Judge Tom Ludington months after it occurred. This has become a disturbing pattern; expeditious disclosure of incidents involving members of the federal judiciary is important to maintaining public confidence in the courts.

Through our complaint, we ask the Ninth Circuit to review Nelson’s conduct and determine whether disciplinary action is warranted.