A judge appointed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Donald Trump is under a misconduct investigation after reporting that he was charged with misdemeanor battery over an incident in a parking lot in Idaho Falls.
According to Reuters Legal, “Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Murguia of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an order released on Monday, opens new tab said she had initiated a judicial misconduct complaint” looking into Judge Ryan Nelson, who was first appointed to the court that oversees most appeals of cases on the West Coast in 2018.
In the original incident report, the dispute began when Nelson parked his truck across two spaces in a parking lot, leading to an argument with another driver. The fight escalated, allegedly leading to Nelson ripping the other person’s glasses off their face, throwing the glasses, and then stomping on them.
Nelson has been charged with misdemeanor battery and malicious destruction of property. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump was notorious for appointing a vast suite of judges to the federal bench in his first term, driven by a close working relationship with the right-wing Federalist Society that has trained generations of conservative law students to be ready for judgeships.
In recent years, however, Trump has fallen out with the Federalist Society and its leader, Leonard Leo, accusing him of “rigging” the court system.
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