Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor has decided not to open a new misconduct complaint against Judge Eleanor Ross following her revised apology letters to former law clerks.
The decision closes the latest chapter in a scandal involving Ross having sex in chambers, exposing the court to an extortion risk, and subsequently lying to investigators about her conduct.
Ross had initially sent three-sentence apology letters on May 27, 2026, a move widely criticised as insufficient given the gravity of the misconduct allegations against her.
Her former law clerks responded by contacting the Judicial Council, stating they “do not believe the letters of apology we received from Judge Ross comply with the remedial measures.”
The clerks specifically said the letters failed to “make clear to the recipient the sexual misconduct for which the judge is apologizing,” prompting Chief Judge Pryor to intervene directly.
Pryor wrote to Ross and shared his correspondence with Bloomberg Law, noting that four of her former clerks had told him the initial letter did not meet the recommendation to be specific about the nature of her misconduct.
Ross subsequently acknowledged in a follow-up letter that her “initial letter was entirely deficient,” admitting she had not taken full accountability for her actions in the original correspondence.
Pryor then wrote back to Ross thanking her for her response, stating he had decided not to identify a new misconduct complaint in light of his review of her revised apology letters and public disclosures to the New York Times.
The original punishment, which fellow Eleventh Circuit judges had attempted to keep private through a confidential reprimand, had already drawn criticism for being a lenient response to serious misconduct involving deception of investigators.
Plans to conceal Ross’s identity in connection with the reprimand collapsed quickly after the matter attracted wider public attention and scrutiny from the press.
Two Georgia congressmen have since filed separate impeachment resolutions against Ross, and the matter now sits before the House Judiciary Committee to determine whether formal impeachment proceedings should begin.
The sequence of events, from the initial inadequate apologies to the revised letters now deemed sufficient by Pryor, has continued to draw sharp criticism from legal observers who argue the process has consistently favoured leniency over accountability.