Atlanta Judge Recusal Sought Over Faulty Handling of Civil Cases

A federal judge in Atlanta is facing another motion to recuse over a recently publicized judicial misconduct order.

Lawyers for a former UPS employee filed the motion on June 3, referencing allegations by US District Judge Eleanor Ross’s law clerks that she didn’t properly supervise their handling of civil cases.

Ross didn’t face discipline over those claims. But attorneys with the Georgia law firm of Strickland Debrow LLP said “a reasonable observer could question whether Plaintiff received the degree of independent judicial review contemplated by Article III and required” the federal law on judicial recusals.

The attorneys aren’t asking the court to revisit any prior ruling, they wrote. But they said that Ross referred to one of their allegations as a “new theory” in her grant of summary judgment in the case, despite it being included in their initial complaint.

They said “that when an unusual procedural outcome in a case is considered alongside the Judicial Council’s findings concerning the manner in which civil motions were assigned, reviewed, and decided, an objectively reasonable observer could question whether the rulings entered in this matter received the level of independent judicial scrutiny ordinarily expected of an Article III judge.”

One of the lawyers, Vernon Strickland, said in an email that the findings about Ross’s handling of civil cases “provide factual context” for actions taken in the litigation “that appeared difficult to reconcile with basic federal civil-procedure principles.” He said it’s up to the court to decide if those concerns warrant recusal.

The motion was earlier reported by Law360.

The Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council order didn’t name the subject judge, but Bloomberg Law reported that it was about Ross.

A special committee’s findings against Ross said her “longstanding practice was to handle all criminal case work without law clerk assistance,” and that the clerks were largely left to handle matters in civil cases on their own.

“Clerks were generally unaware as to whether the Subject Judge reviewed pleadings or draft civil orders,” the order reads, and included comments by former and current staff that suggested Ross may not have reviewed some orders in civil cases before issuing them. Ross told judicial investigators that she may have relied too heavily on law clerks in the past.

The Judicial Council didn’t issue a misconduct finding on those claims, but the special committee investigating Ross’ conduct said it was “troubled” by the judge’s lack of engagement on civil cases. The council did find that Ross had sex in her chambers with a police officer within earshot of her clerks, improperly attended a political event, and lied to judicial investigators.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) said Thursday that he’s drafting articles of impeachment against Ross.

Ross is also facing a recusal request from the Justice Department in its lawsuit seeking Georgia voter rolls, over the judge’s attendance at an election party for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against President Donald Trump and others for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The case was dropped after Trump won reelection in 2024.

The Justice Department in a June 3 motion asked for Ross to rule on its request by June 12, saying that “expedited proceedings” are required ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. But outside parties seeking to intervene in the case, represented by Elias Law Group LLP and Krevolin & Horst, LLC, said Thursday that a quick ruling isn’t required given DOJ’s own “lackadaisical” approach to the case.

The case is Lester v. United Parcel Services, Inc., N.D. Ga., No. 1:23-cv-04064, motion to disqualify judge 6/3/26.