Over the past year, there have been high-profile misconduct complaints filed against two judges that were dismissed on similar grounds.
In 2024, Judge James Wynn of the Fourth Circuit announced he would take senior status, but withdrew that announcement after Trump won. The obvious rationale for his decision was politics. But the Second Circuit Judicial Council refused to inquire into his motives. As I explained in my Civitas column:
In October 2025, the misconduct complaints against Judge Wynn, and the other two judges were dismissed. Chief Judge Debra Livingston wrote the opinion in each case. Livingston found "there is no genuine issue of fact." She added that whether "the Judge considered the outcome of the election as one factor influencing his decision to withdraw the January 5 letter" was "a factual issue I need not resolve." Had Chief Judge Livingston simply asked Judge Wynn why he rescinded his senior status, the judge could have defended himself with some legitimate reason. But he didn't offer such a reason, because there is no plausible, legitimate reason. Regrettably, there is a brazen double standard for brazenly partisan judges. The federal courts routinely scrutinized President Trump's motivations for improper purposes. But when it comes to rooting out judicial misconduct, judges hide behind a veil of ignorance.
