A federal judge in Dallas told a Latino lawyer he was "very intimidated for some reason, Mr. Young, with Black excellence, in light of your White mediocrity," according to the April 24 hearing transcript, as Bloomberg Law reported. The exchange is now part of a judicial misconduct investigation that has taken U.S. District Judge Ada Brown, a Trump appointee, off the bench.
The lawyer, New York solo practitioner Ezra Young, was representing a Black former law professor in a suit over a tenure denial. Brown repeatedly described Young as White even after he said he is Latino. "You look like a White man, right?" she asked, per the transcript. "I'm not White, Your Honor," he replied, saying he is Latino. Later she told him: "You're the White savior, come to save all the stupid Black lawyers in Texas who need your help, from New York."
Brown had already revoked Young's permission to practice in her courtroom while she weighed sanctions against him, Bloomberg Law reported, and the Fifth Circuit rejected his bid to rejoin the case to seek her disqualification. At the April hearing she accused him of "racial bullying" toward Black attorneys and, when he said she was using "vicious stereotypes about White people," answered, "This Black woman?" He answered, "No, Your Honor. This Court."
Young filed a misconduct complaint afterward, writing that he believed the judge may have a mental health condition. Brown's 76-page written response, dated July 28, denied any misconduct and any mental condition, though she conceded that the way she communicated during the exchanges "might have been handled more delicately." She said Young displayed concerning behavior toward Black lawyers and women that he does not display toward White men.
The complaint was not the only one. Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the Fifth Circuit identified a second, and her order found probable cause that Brown mistreated judges and staff, created a hostile work environment and abandoned her docket. A committee of judges then found a "reasonable basis" to believe Brown "suffers from a mental condition that currently interferes with her ability to perform the responsibilities of her office," and that she "abandoned her post as a federal judge," Bloomberg Law reported. Among its stated reasons: she recused from more than 40 cases since June 1, often without explanation. Chief Judge Reed O'Connor transferred her cases on Oct. 5, and the committee ordered an independent psychiatric evaluation by Oct. 21.
Brown has refused to take part. On Oct. 17 she emailed the complaint, her response and other documents, including sealed filings from unrelated lawyer disciplinary matters, to about 140 judges, lawyers and reporters, the committee said in an Oct. 20 order. It ordered her to appear on Oct. 30 and warned that if she did not, it would file its report "without the benefit of Judge Brown's response" and could examine whether the refusal is itself misconduct.
Outside experts quoted by Bloomberg Law were blunt. Andre Davis, a former Fourth Circuit judge, said the conduct shows a "clear pattern" of abusive behavior that appears to violate the Code of Conduct for Federal Judges, and that removal "would be compelling" on the current facts absent mitigating information. Arthur Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, said judges are expected to "take that in stride" even when frustrated.
Nothing is final. The committee has made no ruling on discipline, Brown did not respond to Bloomberg Law's requests for comment, and she denies the allegations. The next step is her Oct. 30 summons, which she says she will not answer.
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