Judiciary Expects Disclosure Database Will Be Ready in November

The federal judiciary expects that a searchable public database for judges’ financial disclosures mandated by Congress will be “fully operational” by the Nov. 9 deadline in the statute.

“The public site has been developed and is undergoing testing with the goal of being implemented by that November 2022 deadline,” US District Judge Claire Eagan, chair of Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference, told reporters Tuesday on a call after a meeting of the conference.

Judges have also been briefed and given training and advice on how to comply with the law, Eagan said.

In May, a bill passed by Congress that required Administrative Office of the US Courts to create a searchable database of judicial financial disclosures and make them available online within 90 days of their filing became law.

That statute gives the judiciary 180 days to create that database, though there is a carve out that allows the third branch to have additional time if it misses that date.

The Judicial Conference also announced that it approved a nationwide workplace survey, setting in motion a uniform way to collect information about misconduct anonymously.

The survey will cover all judiciary employees, whose participation will be voluntary, and will cover questions about harassment, inappropriate behavior, and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Eagan said.

Whether the results of that survey will be public “remains to be seen,” she said.