DOJ moves to disqualify Judge Eleanor Ross from Georgia voter records suit

ATLANTA - The United States Department of Justice has formally requested the recusal of U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross from a federal election records lawsuit in Georgia, according to court documents filed on Friday. 

Federal prosecutors claim public reports and circumstantial evidence connect the judge to a recent reprimand for attending a partisan political victory party.

Georgia election lawsuit disqualification

What we know:

Federal prosecutors submitted a Motion to Disqualify and a supporting memorandum on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The government’s motion stems from a Dec. 10, 2025, amended final report adopted by the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit.

That report concluded an unnamed "Subject Judge" committed judicial misconduct by attending a partisan political victory party for a district attorney, passing through a lobby adorned with campaign signs, and later telling staff and an intern that they had consumed too many martinis at the event.

"The Subject Judge’s attendance at the political event – where someone photographed the judge – had the potential to erode public confidence in the independent and non-partisan nature of the judiciary," the memorandum quotes.

The Judicial Council issued a private reprimand, and the judge agreed to apologize to former law clerks, forgo serving as chief judge, and indefinitely refrain from serving on any Judicial Conference committee. The decision was affirmed on May 22 by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

While the Eleventh Circuit did not publicly identify the disciplined judge, news outlets and legal experts this week identified Judge Ross as the Subject Judge, according to the filings. 

See full 2020 election reporting

The federal memorandum outlines circumstantial evidence matching the report's details to Judge Ross, noting that the event lined up with the start of Georgia's summer internships following the state's May 21, 2024, primary election. Furthermore, the memorandum points out that the day after the political function, the Subject Judge presided over a criminal revocation proceeding, a schedule that aligns with a case Judge Ross oversaw on May 22, 2024.

The political event in question reportedly celebrated Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Willis gained national attention for her prosecution of President Donald Trump regarding alleged election interference in the 2020 presidential election—a case from which Willis and her office were later disqualified by the Georgia Court of Appeals before its ultimate dismissal. The memorandum notes that Judge Ross previously worked as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County alongside Willis.

Federal prosecutors argue that Judge Ross's alleged attendance at the celebration creates an unacceptable appearance of bias under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), which mandates disqualification if a judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

The underlying lawsuit, initiated by the United States on Jan. 23, accuses Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by refusing to provide unredacted statewide voter registration lists requested by the attorney general to ensure compliance with federal election laws. Raffensperger and several intervening defendants moved to dismiss the case in February and March.

The Department of Justice maintains that because Willis framed her prosecution of Trump as an election-integrity matter, an objective observer would doubt the impartiality of a judge who celebrated Willis's victory while presiding over a separate federal election-integrity case brought by the Trump administration.

Postponement request timeline

What's next:

A hearing on the defendants' motions to dismiss is currently scheduled for June 3. Additionally, the DOJ has requested for the upcoming hearing to be postponed while the court considers federal prosecutors' request to disqualify Judge Ross.

Media identification background

What we don't know:

The Department of Justice maintained that its disqualification request was filed in a timely manner and not to create a delay. While the initial misconduct report was issued in late 2025, it was not officially affirmed by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Judicial Conference of the United States until May 22—one week before the current filings, according to federal prosecutors. 

The government noted it had no reason to suspect Judge Ross was involved until the media reports emerged earlier this week, prompting immediate action. It remains unknown how the court will rule on the pause or who would replace Judge Ross if she steps aside.

RELATED:

• Justice Department sues Georgia over voter registration roll
• Georgia voter data lawsuit draws intervention from voting rights organizations