Federal Courts and Judicial Independence

A chief judge in the Sixth Circuit dismissed a misconduct complaint brought by the Trump administration’s Justice Department against U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, which alleged he told fellow judges in March 2025 that the administration would trigger a constitutional crisis by ignoring court rulings days before he blocked the government’s attempt to use 18th‑century wartime powers to run deportation flights to an El Salvador prison. Chief Judge Sutton held that even if Boasberg made the remarks they would fall within normal judicial‑conference discussion and not violate ethics rules; the complaint had been routed to the Sixth Circuit after D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan asked Chief Justice Roberts to transfer it because related appeals were pending.