28 U.S.C. § 354 — Action by judicial council

(a) Actions after receiving a report. (1) When a circuit's judicial council receives a report filed under section 353(c), it may (A) conduct any additional investigation it considers necessary, (B) dismiss the complaint, and (C) if the complaint isn't dismissed, take whatever action is appropriate to keep the circuit's courts running effectively and promptly. (2) Possible actions if the complaint isn't dismissed. (A) In general, action under (1)(C) may include temporarily ordering that no further cases be assigned to the judge for a set time, privately reprimanding the judge, or publicly reprimanding the judge. (B) For "Article III" judges — those appointed to serve during good behavior, meaning life-tenured judges — action may also include certifying the judge as disabled under the procedures and standards in section 372(b), or asking the judge to voluntarily retire, without requiring the judge to meet the usual years-of-service rule in section 371. (C) For magistrate judges, action may include directing that district's chief judge to take whatever steps the council considers appropriate. (3) Limits on removal. (A) Under no circumstances may the judicial council order the removal from office of an Article III judge. (B) Removing a magistrate judge must follow section 631, and removing a bankruptcy judge must follow section 152. (4) The judicial council must immediately give written notice of the action taken to both the person who complained and the judge whose conduct was at issue. (b) Referral to the Judicial Conference. (1) In addition to the authority in subsection (a), the judicial council may, at its own discretion, refer a complaint filed under section 351 — along with the record of any related proceedings and its own recommendations — to the Judicial Conference of the United States. (2) If the judicial council determines, based on a complaint and investigation under this chapter or on other information available to it, that an Article III judge may have engaged in conduct (A) that could be grounds for impeachment under Article II of the Constitution, or (B) that, in the interest of justice, the council itself shouldn't resolve, the council must promptly certify that determination — along with the complaint and record — to the Judicial Conference. (3) Unless doing so would go against the interest of justice, the judicial council must immediately send written notice of this referral to both the complainant and the judge involved.