Thursday, July 9, 2026
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Probe of Nelson’s Conduct Shifted to Fourth Circuit
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Disciplinary proceedings relating to Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ryan Nelson based on a parking-lot tiff he got into are escalating, with an announcement by his court yesterday that U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the matter to the Judicial Council of the Fourth Circuit.
The chief justice acted, at the request of Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, pursuant to Rule 26 of the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings which authorizes a transfer to another circuit “[i]n exceptional circumstances.” The announcement did not specify what those circumstances are.
What is clear is that Murguia, who said on June 8 that an investigation into Ryan’s conduct had been launched, has concluded that further proceedings are warranted. Nelson is facing a misdemeanor battery charge in Idaho over an April 2 spat during which he grabbed a man’s sunglasses and stomped on them. A pretrial conference is scheduled for July 16.
The Fourth Circuit’s Judicial Council could, under 28 U.S. Code § 354, dismiss the complaint; order “on a temporary basis for a time certain, no further cases be assigned to the judge whose conduct is the subject of a complaint”; privately censure or reprimand the judge, or do publicly. Disciplinary proceedings can potentially result in a suggestion to the judge of voluntarily leaving the bench or reference of the matter to the House of Representatives for possible impeachment proceedings.
Nelson, 52, took office on Oct. 18, 2018. He is an appointee of President Donald Trump.
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