{"id":2615261,"date":"2026-06-17T14:50:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rhode-island-judge-faces-misconduct-complaint-over-attacks-on-doj-lawyers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:55:04","slug":"rhode-island-judge-faces-misconduct-complaint-over-attacks-on-doj-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rhode-island-judge-faces-misconduct-complaint-over-attacks-on-doj-lawyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhode Island judge faces misconduct complaint over attacks on DOJ lawyers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frhode-island-judge-faces-misconduct-complaint-over-attacks-on-doj-lawyers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2615261&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Rhode Island federal judge, Mary S. McElroy, faces a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/afl-calls-for-probe-of-judge-who-barred-dei-funding-freeze\/\" title=\"AFL Calls For Probe Of ... Who Barred DEI Funding Freeze\">judicial misconduct complaint<\/a> from the conservative organization CASA.The complaint claims she made false, partisan, and inappropriate attacks on Justice Department attorneys in a dispute over subpoenas related to transgender healthcare records for children. CASA alleges that McElroy&#8217;s comments and her referral of the DOJ lawyers to disciplinary authorities were unprofessional and motivated by political bias. <\/p>\n<p>The controversy stems from a lengthy legal battle over a DOJ investigation into hospitals providing transgender treatments to minors, specifically focusing on subpoenas issued to Rhode Island Hospital and other facilities.McElroy&#8217;s May ruling to quash the DOJ\u2019s subpoena accused the attorneys of dishonesty and misconduct, allegations CASA disputes, asserting McElroy\u2019s remarks were politically charged and vengeful.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being appointed by President Trump, McElroy&#8217;s nomination was supported by Rhode island&#8217;s Democratic senators and was not ideologically motivated. The complaint emphasizes that her conduct violated judicial ethics, which demand impartiality and integrity, and argues her actions reflected hostility toward the DOJ\u2019s policy objectives. <\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >case highlights broader jurisdictional conflicts<\/a> within courts over investigations into pediatric transgender healthcare, with multiple courts in different states involved in similar disputes. CASA is seeking an investigation by the 1st Circuit to determine if mcelroy\u2019s actions amounted to misconduct warranting disciplinary measures.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rhode-island\/\">Rhode Island<\/a> federal judge is facing a judicial misconduct complaint accusing her of launching false and politically motivated attacks against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> attorneys before referring them for possible discipline in a dispute over federal subpoenas seeking records related to transgender drugs and surgeries for children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/1052205385\/CASA-Judicial-Complaint-Judge-McElroy?_gl=1*1s920ha*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTE1NTY5NTQ4Ny4xNzgxNzE0NTAw*_ga_Z4ZC50DED6*czE3ODE3MTQ0OTkkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODE3MTQ1NDAkajE5JGwwJGgw*_ga_8KZ8BV0P5W*czE3ODE3MTQ0OTkkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODE3MTQ1NDAkajE5JGwwJGgw\">complaint<\/a>, filed Wednesday by the conservative Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), asks the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to investigate U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy over what the group calls an improper and partisan campaign against the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a>\u2018s DOJ personnel who appeared before her court.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4612270\/judge-presses-white-house-over-plan-to-keep-kennedy-center-open\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge presses White House over plan to keep Kennedy Center open<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4612144\/gavin-newsom-trump-target-doj-investigation-facts-byron-york\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Newsom\u2019s \u2018Trump target\u2019 claim collides with facts: Byron York<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4611330\/judge-idaho-bathroom-ban-transgender\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge blocks Idaho bathroom ban in win for transgender advocates<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCASA is filing a judicial complaint against the unprofessional Rhode Island District Court Judge Mary McElroy for her inappropriate and inaccurate excoriations she made on the record against attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice,\u201d CASA Director of Research and Policy Curtis Schube said in a statement accompanying the filing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNot only did McElroy make these damaging and false statements, but she followed them up with a vindictive referral of these DOJ attorneys to the District of Rhode Island\u2019s disciplinary committee,\u201d Schube added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dispute traces back to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/department-justice-subpoenas-doctors-and-clinics-involved-performing-transgender-medical\">nationwide DOJ investigation<\/a> that began under former Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\">Pam Bondi<\/a>, examining whether hospitals that provided transgender-related drugs or surgical procedures to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judges-clash-over-doj-inquiry-into-transgender-treatments-for-minors\/\" title=\"...s clash over DOJ inquiry into transgender treatments for ...\">minors violated federal laws involving fraud<\/a>, misbranding, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-medical-system-in-california-to-pay-nearly-3-million-after-claims-of-unnecessary-genetic-testing\/\" title=\"University Medical System In California To Pay Nearly  Million After Claims Of \u2018Unnecessary Genetic Testing\u2019\">improper billing practices<\/a>. At the center of CASA\u2019s allegations is McElroy\u2019s accusation that DOJ attorneys misled a federal court in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a> about the status of communications between the government and the hospital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beginning in July last year, the DOJ issued administrative subpoenas to several hospitals, including Rhode Island Hospital, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-subpoenas-arizona-voting-records-tied-to-2020-maricopa-audit\/\" title=\"FBI subpoenas Arizona voting records tied to 2020 Maricopa audit\">seeking records connected<\/a> to drugs and surgeries provided to children who had obtained gender dysphoria diagnoses. According to court records cited in the misconduct complaint, the hospital produced only a single six-page document before an Aug. 7 compliance deadline, and it continued to quibble over the scope of the subpoena for months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After nearly 10 frustrating months without receiving additional records from the medical facilities, the DOJ ultimately petitioned the U.S. District Court for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73276712\/in-re-administrative-subpoena-25-1431-032\/?filed_after=&#038;filed_before=&#038;entry_gte=&#038;entry_lte=&#038;order_by=desc\">Northern District of Texas on April 30<\/a> to enforce the subpoena. Rhode Island Hospital responded by seeking relief in federal court in Rhode Island, where the matter landed before McElroy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island is facing a judicial misconduct complaint alleging she made false and politically motivated attacks against Justice Department attorneys and improperly referred them for disciplinary review. (Courtesy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although McElroy was formally nominated to the federal bench by President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> in 2018, she was far from the president\u2019s preferred pick at the time. She had previously been nominated to the same judgeship by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\">Barack Obama<\/a> in 2015 but never received a full Senate vote. Her eventual confirmation during Trump\u2019s first term came after Rhode Island\u2019s Democratic senators continued backing her candidacy, making her appointment more a product of longstanding Senate courtesy practices than a new ideological selection by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a May 14 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73290254\/44\/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73290254\/44\/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital\/\">ruling quashing the DOJ\u2019s subpoena<\/a>, McElroy accused DOJ attorneys of engaging in \u201cdishonorable conduct,\u201d being \u201cunworthy of trust,\u201d and acting with \u201can improper purpose in bad faith.\u201d She later referred the attorneys involved in the matter to the District of Rhode Island\u2019s disciplinary committee.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CASA maintains the government never represented to the Texas court that all communications with the hospital had ceased, which was the basis of McElroy\u2019s hostile comments toward the DOJ lawyers. Rather, DOJ told the court that communications concerning the hospital\u2019s active production of subpoenaed documents had stalled. Emails exchanged afterward, the group argues, primarily involved scheduling discussions and negotiations over the subpoena\u2019s scope rather than evidence of the hospital\u2019s compliance with the subpoena.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJudge McElroy\u2019s actions go beyond the bounds of acceptable condemnation by a judge and cross into partisan vengefulness,\u201d the misconduct complaint stated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal judicial ethics rules require judges to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary, avoid the appearance of impropriety, and perform their duties fairly and impartially. CASA argues McElroy\u2019s conduct violated those standards by allowing political considerations to influence her treatment of the government attorneys appearing before her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The complaint gives particular attention to language in McElroy\u2019s opinion, suggesting DOJ\u2019s actions were driven by its \u201cpolitical positions.\u201d Schube argues those statements reflected hostility toward the administration\u2019s policy objectives, rather than a neutral assessment of the facts presented to the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis complaint is not about the merits of Judge McElroy\u2019s decision on the RIH subpoena \u2014 that issue is properly for the appeals court,\u201d the filing states. \u201cInstead, we are sharply concerned with, and appalled by, the sheer rage over a political subject in front of her resulting in a power struggle with a different court that Judge McElroy took out on DOJ attorneys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McElroy\u2019s ruling emerged as a broader jurisdictional fight has unfolded over the Trump administration\u2019s investigation into pediatric transgender drugs and surgeries. Federal judges in Rhode Island, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maryland\/\">Maryland<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\">California<\/a> have all <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4600604\/judicial-turf-war-doj-transgender-drugs-surgeries-investigations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">been asked to intervene<\/a> in cases involving DOJ subpoenas or grand jury demands for hospital records, creating overlapping litigation in multiple jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rhode Island litigation became one of the earliest flashpoints in that battle. In her May ruling, McElroy wrote that the DOJ\u2019s conduct undermined the traditional \u201cpresumption of regularity\u201d that courts typically afford to government officials and prosecutors, arguing the department had failed to deal candidly with both the hospital and the courts. The presumption of regularity means that courts are generally supposed to assume that the government is acting in good faith and therefore judges should take what the government argues at face value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The underlying dispute also exposed tensions between federal courts in different parts of the country. While McElroy moved to quash the subpoena in Rhode Island, enforcement proceedings remained pending before U.S. District Judge Reed O\u2019Connor in Texas, where the DOJ sought compliance with the records request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4600604\/judicial-turf-war-doj-transgender-drugs-surgeries-investigations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">JUDICIAL TURF WAR IGNITES OVER DOJ INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRANSGENDER DRUGS AND SURGERIES FOR CHILDREN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adding to further scrutiny of McElroy\u2019s decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit later <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279\/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279.00108449119.0.pdf\">declined to intervene in key aspects<\/a> of the Rhode Island litigation, concluding that challenges to enforcement proceedings pending in Texas must be directed either to the Northern District of Texas or the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CASA is now asking the 1st Circuit to determine whether McElroy\u2019s conduct crossed the line from forceful judicial criticism into sanctionable misconduct and whether disciplinary action is warranted under the federal judiciary\u2019s ethics rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rhode Island judge faces misconduct over partisan attacks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2615262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26066586205419.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7076,50433,38118,4835,36648],"class_list":["post-2615261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doj","tag-judge-2","tag-legal-controversy","tag-misconduct","tag-rhode-island"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26066586205419.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615261"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2615269,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615261\/revisions\/2615269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2615262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}