An attorney named Katherine Giannamore leaked a judicial complaint against Judge Roy Altman to Above the Law a few weeks ago. It generated a bunch of whisper buzz among the legal community, which was of course the purpose of leaking it.
Judge Altman issued a response, which is typically kept confidential. But he asked Chief Judge Pryor to make it public since the leaker's complaint was out there. Judge Pryor agreed to make the response and his order public, which can be accessed here. The conclusion from the Order dismissing the Complaint:
"Based on these Canons, the Complaint fails to present a basis for a finding of misconduct. The Complaint makes allegations lacking sufficient evidence to raise an inference that Judge Altman exhibited bias, made inappropriate statements, violated the Code of Conduct, or otherwise engaged in misconduct, and the limited inquiry "demonstrates that allegations in the complaint lack any factual foundation or are conclusively refuted by objective evidence."
"A lie travels half-way around the world before the truth puts its shoes on in the morning." That quote (or similar versions) have wrongly been attributed to Mark Twain. Whoever said it, it's especially true in this era of social media, email, and the like. So when Above the Law posted the complaint, Judge Altman was wrongly -- and quickly -- smeared. I have followed Above the Law since David Lat founded it many years ago. It's a fun website that posts interesting topics. I hope it posts this Order and Altman's response so that the false accusations against Altman get the same airtime.
