HouseH.R. 10390119th Congress
Judicial Conduct and Disability Reform Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10390 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10390
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for mandatory
transfer requests for complaints against circuit court judges, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 15, 2026
Mr. Fitzgerald introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for mandatory
transfer requests for complaints against circuit court judges, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Judicial Conduct and Disability
Reform Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION ORDERS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by inserting at the end the following:
``Sec. 365. Suspension orders
``(a) Limits on Suspension Orders by Judicial Council.--
``(1) Not later than one year after a suspension order is
issued, the judicial council or Judicial Conference shall--
``(A) end the suspension and conclude the
proceeding;
``(B) renew the suspension for a period not to
exceed one year upon finding that doing so will
effectuate the remedial purposes of this chapter; or
``(C) request that the judge retire--
``(i) under section 371(a), with the
proviso that the age and service requirements
shall not apply;
``(ii) under section 371(b), with the
proviso that the age and service requirements
shall not apply; or
``(iii) under section 372(a).
``(2) At the time of making the request under subsection
(a)(1)(C), the judicial council shall notify the appropriate
congressional committees of its action.
``(3) If the judicial council concludes the proceeding
under paragraph (1)(A), it shall file a written order under
section 360(b) describing any corrective action taken by the
subject judge during the pendency of the suspension.
``(4) If, within 30 days of the request described in
paragraph (1)(C), the judge has not voluntarily retired, the
judicial council shall refer the complaint to the Judicial
Conference under section 354(b)(1) or certify the matter to the
Judicial Conference under section 354(b)(2).
``(b) Limits on Order Renewing Suspensions.--
``(1) A judicial council may renew a suspension order in
accordance with this subsection.
``(2) The powers and limitations set forth in subsection
(a) shall apply as in an initial suspension, provided that
there is no option for renewal.
``(c) Powers of Judicial Conference.--
``(1) This subsection shall apply to any proceeding in
which--
``(A) the conduct of a judge appointed to hold
office during good behavior is the subject of the
complaint; and
``(B) the matter has reached the Judicial
Conference--
``(i) by referral under section 354(b)(1);
``(ii) by certification under section
354(b)(2); or
``(iii) upon petition for review under
section 357(a).
``(2) In addition to the powers conferred in section 355,
the Judicial Conference may exercise the powers conferred upon
the judicial council by section 354(a)(2)(A), as limited by
this section.
``(3) Under no circumstances may a suspension order
(including any renewals) extend for more than two years from
the effective date of the initial suspension order.
``(d) Definitions.--In this chapter:
``(1) The term `suspension order' means an order that--
``(A) is issued in a proceeding in which the
conduct of a judge appointed to hold office during good
behavior is the subject of a complaint filed under this
chapter;
``(B) is issued by a judicial council under section
354(a)(2)(A)(i) or by the Judicial Conference under
section 355(a); and
``(C) directs that no further cases be assigned to
the judge whose conduct is the subject of the
complaint.
``(2) The term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 16 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 364 the following:
``Sec. 365. Suspension orders.''.
SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF COMPLAINTS UNDER CHAPTER 16.
Section 352 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Transfer of Proceedings.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Request for transfer.--
``(i) Permissive.--A chief judge or a
judicial council may ask the Chief Justice to
transfer a proceeding based on a complaint
filed under section 351(a) or identified under
section 351(b) to the judicial council of
another circuit.
``(ii) Mandatory.--A request for a transfer
under clause (i) shall be made in any
proceeding in which the transfer would
contribute to effectuating the purposes of this
chapter, including maintaining public
confidence in the judiciary's ability to
redress misconduct or disability and protecting
the independence of individual judges.
``(B) Timing.--A request for a transfer may be made
at any stage of the proceeding before a reference to
the Judicial Conference is made under section 354(b) or
a petition for review is filed under section 352(c) or
section 357(a).
``(C) Disposition.--Upon receiving such a request,
the Chief Justice may refuse the request or select the
transferee judicial council, which may then exercise
the powers of a judicial council under this chapter.
``(2) Complaints against circuit judges.--
``(A) In general.--If a complaint has been filed
under section 351(a) or identified under section 351(b)
against a judge who serves on a United States Court of
Appeals, and the chief judge does not dismiss the
complaint under section 352(b)(1) or conclude the
proceeding under section 352(b)(2), the chief judge
shall ask the Chief Justice to transfer the proceeding
to the judicial council of another circuit.
``(B) Disposition.--Upon receiving such a request,
the Chief Justice may refuse the request or select the
transferee judicial council, which may then exercise
the powers of a judicial council under this chapter.''.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.
Section 354(a)(4) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(5) Notice of action to appropriate congressional
committees.--The judicial council shall immediately provide
written notice of the action taken under this subsection to the
appropriate congressional committees. The term `appropriate
congressional committees' means the Committee on the Judiciary
of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House
of Representatives.''.
SEC. 5. REVIEW OF ORDERS AND ACTIONS.
Section 357 of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``Sec. 357. Review of orders and actions
``(a) Review of Action of Judicial Council.--
``(1) Petition for review.--A complainant or judge
aggrieved by an action of the judicial council under section
354 may petition the Judicial Conference of the United States
for review thereof.
``(2) Authority of judicial conference.--The Judicial
Conference, or the standing committee established under section
331, may grant a petition filed by a complainant or judge under
subsection (a).
``(3) Standard of review.--In exercising its power of
review under this subsection, the Judicial Conference, or the
standing committee established under section 331, shall
exercise an independent judgment with respect to issues of law
(including the application of law to fact), the definition of
misconduct and performance-impairing disability within the
meaning of this chapter, and the appropriateness of the action
taken by the judicial council under section 354(a).
``(b) Limited Judicial Review.--
``(1) Jurisdiction.--The court of appeals shall have
exclusive jurisdiction to review a suspension order, as defined
in section 365(d), if the cumulative duration of the initial
order and any renewals is more than one year. Review may be
sought only by the judge who is the subject of the order.
``(2) Venue.--The venue of a proceeding under this
subsection is in a judicial circuit that--
``(A) is selected by the Chief Justice of the
United States; and
``(B) is neither the circuit where the suspended
judge serves nor the circuit whose judicial council
issued the suspension order that is the subject of the
petition for review.
``(3) Scope of review.--Review under this subsection shall
be limited to questions under the Constitution of the United
States.
``(4) Procedures.--The Judicial Conference shall issue
rules governing the review authorized by this subsection. These
rules shall--
``(A) incorporate, to the extent appropriate, the
procedures specified in chapter 158 of this title; and
``(B) effectuate the purposes of this chapter,
including maintaining public confidence in the
judiciary's ability to redress misconduct or disability
and protecting the independence of individual judges.
``(5) Expeditious review.--A petition for review under this
section shall be considered and decided expeditiously, to the
end that the matter will not be mooted before decision.
``(6) Review in supreme court on certiorari or
certification.--
``(A) Review on certiorari.--A final order of the
court of appeals in a proceeding under this subsection
is subject to review by the Supreme Court on a writ of
certiorari as provided by section 1254(1) of this
title. Application for the writ shall be made within 45
days after entry of the order and within 90 days after
entry of the judgment, as the case may be. The subject
judge or the United States may file a petition for a
writ of certiorari.
``(B) Certification and stays.--The provisions of
section 1254(2) of this title, regarding certification,
and of section 2101(f) of this title, regarding stays,
also apply to proceedings under this subsection.
``(c) Preclusion of Review of Other Orders.--Except as otherwise
provided in this section and section 352(c), all orders and
determinations, including denials of petitions for review, shall be
final and conclusive and shall not be judicially reviewable on appeal
or otherwise.''.
SEC. 6. STANDARD OF RECUSAL.
Section 359 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (a) and (b) as subsections
(b) and (c), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after the section title the following:
``(a) General Rule of Disqualification.--A judge shall disqualify
himself or herself in any proceeding under this chapter in which the
judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned.''.
SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
Subsections (c) and (d) of section 352 of title 28, United States
Code, are redesignated as subsections (d) and (e), respectively.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act apply to each complaint under
chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, filed or identified under
such chapter after the date of enactment of this Act, or to any
suspension order, as defined in section 365, in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act.
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