28 U.S.C. § 353 — Special committees

This section describes how a judicial-misconduct complaint against a judge gets investigated by a special committee. (a) Appointment. If the chief judge does not handle the complaint alone under section 352(b), the chief judge must promptly do three things: appoint a special committee — made up of the chief judge and equal numbers of circuit and district judges from the circuit — to investigate the facts and claims in the complaint; send the complaint and any related documents to each committee member; and give written notice to both the person who filed the complaint and the judge whose conduct is being questioned, explaining what action was taken. (b) Change in Status or Death of Judges. A judge on the committee can keep serving even after becoming a senior judge, or, for the chief judge, after their term as chief judge ends. If a committee member dies or retires while serving, the chief judge of the circuit may appoint another circuit or district judge to take their place. (c) Investigation by Special Committee. The committee must investigate as thoroughly as it thinks necessary, and must promptly file a full written report with the circuit's judicial council. That report must lay out both what the investigation found and the committee's recommendations for what action the judicial council should take.