DOJ Submits Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Handling Transgender Military Ban Case
Chad Mizelle, the chief of staff at the DOJ, has called for appropriate measures to be taken regarding the judge’s alleged violations.
On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) lodged a misconduct complaint against a federal judge in Washington, citing potential bias during hearings on a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the military.
The complaint, submitted by DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle, claims that U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes exhibited “hostile and egregious misconduct” and breached the judicial code of conduct by disrespecting a department lawyer throughout a two-day hearing related to the case.
Mizelle provided two examples where Reyes interrogated the attorney about his religious beliefs and recruited him “unwillingly as a physical prop” in a rhetorical exercise during the proceedings.
In one instance, Reyes queried the lawyer about what he thought “Jesus would say to telling a group of people that they are so worthless, so worthless that we’re not going to allow them into homeless shelters.”
Mizelle asserted that the question was problematic as it was irrelevant to the legal analysis of military policy and placed the lawyer in an “untenable position” to respond.
He praised the attorney for his professional reaction to Reyes, stating, “The United States is not going to speculate about what Jesus would have to say about anything.”
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Mizelle also noted Reyes’s inappropriate use of the abbreviation “WTF” while questioning the lawyer regarding his religious beliefs, asserting that it reflected the judge’s lack of professional decorum.
The second instance involved Reyes directing the lawyer physically as part of “a rhetorical exercise” during a discussion about discrimination. In this hypothetical scenario, Reyes instructed the attorney to sit down because she had decided to exclude graduates from the University of Virginia Law School from her courtroom, claiming “they’re all liars and lack integrity.”
In his complaint, Mizelle expressed that he interprets the judge’s physical direction as an attempt to humiliate the government counsel during the hearing.
“This directive served no legitimate judicial purpose and turned an attorney appearing before the court into an unwilling participant in the judge’s unnecessary demonstration,” Mizelle stated. “Such treatment undermines the dignity of counsel and the decorum of the courtroom.”
Mizelle has called for appropriate action to be taken in response to the alleged violations to ensure future hearings are held with “dignity and impartiality.” He urged an investigation into these incidents to determine whether Reyes engaged in misconduct.
“An independent, impartial judiciary is fundamental to our system of justice,” he emphasized. “When judges show apparent bias or treat counsel disrespectfully, it erodes public confidence in the judicial system.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Reyes’s chambers for comment, but no response was received by publication time.
The order emphasizes that adherence to these standards cannot be “diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” It directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to conclude what it termed “invented and identification-based pronoun usage” that inaccurately reflects an individual’s sex within 60 days.
Furthermore, the order stipulates stricter separation between male and female service members regarding sleeping, changes of clothes, and bathing.
Steven Kovac and Reuters contributed to this report.
