Ban on Courthouse Romance Proposed to Stem Judiciary Harassment

Banning romantic relationships between judges and courthouse employees, including clerks, should be considered to take the pressure off sex harassment victims and reduce the chances of misconduct, a legal scholar proposed Oct. 30.

Renee Knake, a University of Houston law professor focusing on professional responsibility, testified at a hearing where judges and other academics grappled with how to improve rules concerning federal courthouse harassment.

All professions have experienced their own #MeToo “reckoning,” and the judiciary is no exception, Knake said.

In fact, Knake’s decision not to pursue a federal clerkship was influenced partly by a warning that a certain ...