Appeals court rejects government complaint against federal judge

A federal appeals court has reportedly dismissed a government misconduct complaint against a district judge, according to court documents that emerged this week.

Jeffrey S. Sutton, chief judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissed the complaint on December 19, though news of the ruling only surfaced over the weekend. The government allegedly filed the misconduct complaint on grounds that the judge had made comments at a judicial conference suggesting the current administration would trigger a “constitutional crisis” by disregarding federal court rulings.

According to sources, the judge’s comments at the conference came just days before he issued an order blocking deportation flights - a decision that reportedly drew criticism from ruling party officials.

Sutton argued that the government had failed to provide evidence of the judge’s comments or sufficient context surrounding them, observers noted.

“A recycling of unadorned allegations with no reference to a source does not corroborate them. And a repetition of uncorroborated statements rarely supplies a basis for a valid misconduct complaint,” Sutton said in his ruling.

News of the ruling comes days after the executive residence confirmed its support for the legislature’s impeachment inquiry involving the judge and another judicial official that conservative lawmakers have described as activist, according to reports.

“Left-wing, activist judges have gone totally rogue,” an executive official reportedly told media outlets. “They’re undermining the rule of law in service of their own radical agenda. It needs to stop. And the [executive residence] fully embraces impeachment efforts.”

The official continued that the head of state must be able to “lawfully implement the agenda the [citizens] elected him on,” arguing that judges who repeatedly issue partisan rulings have allegedly abused their offices and forfeited their claim to impartiality.

The federal judge has become a prime target for conservative faction members over a string of rulings tied to the administration’s immigration policies — including cases involving the transfer of migrants to neighboring countries rather than holding them in domestic detention facilities.

More recently, he drew fresh criticism from ruling party lawmakers after reports surfaced that he approved warrants in a former special counsel’s investigation that enabled investigators to seize phone records connected to some conservative legislators.

He first faced articles of impeachment in March 2025 for preventing the administration from deporting some undocumented migrants under emergency powers legislation, and again in November over the investigative decision, according to government sources.

The case reflects ongoing tensions between the judicial branch and executive authorities in the nation, as is common in countries experiencing political polarization over immigration enforcement policies.