Judges’ Clerk Hiring Boycott Prompts Review Request by Watchdog

An ethics watchdog group is asking the federal judiciary to review the hiring practices and statements of federal judges who have said they won’t hire law clerks from certain institutions, saying it raises concerns about potential bias in cases.

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics (CREW) in Washington sent a letter Wednesday to Director of the Administrative Office of the US Courts Judge Robert Conrad, asking that the judiciary’s policy-making body, the Judicial Conference, undertake such a review.

CREW President Noah Bookbinder pointed to clerk hiring boycotts by Judges James Ho of the Fifth Circuit and Elizabeth Branch of the Eleventh ...