Main: U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose speaks in a video about why she went to law school (Roger Williams University/YouTube). Right inset: In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo, then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia looks into the balcony before addressing the Chicago-Kent College Law justice in Chicago (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File).
A federal court in Rhode Island has exercised its authority, as outlined in its regulations, to launch an inquiry into a Department of Justice attorney’s honesty. To lead this investigation, the court has appointed a distinguished law professor with expertise in ethics.
The term “lack of candor” is often used in legal circles as a polite way of accusing someone of dishonesty. In this instance, the attorney in question has confessed to withholding information, attributing his actions to his client’s directives.
Recently, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, confronted Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan. She demanded an explanation for why she was not informed that Bryan Rafael Gomez had an outstanding homicide warrant in the Dominican Republic prior to approving his habeas corpus petition. Bolan claimed that his client, ICE—part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—had instructed him to keep that information confidential.
In his defense, Bolan stated in a court document that he “relied on ICE’s assertion that disclosure was not permitted and understood there was a valid law enforcement reason for this restriction.”
However, two major issues arose. Firstly, ICE had already publicized details of Gomez’s warrant in an April 16 press release highlighting the arrests of “5 foreign fugitives wanted for murder.” Secondly, the DHS had issued a press release on April 30, which remains unchanged, labeling DuBose an “Activist Biden Judge” for releasing a “Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder.”
During a hearing, DuBose questioned Bolan about the DHS’s post, to which he responded that he had reached out extensively to have the press release removed, but his efforts yielded no results.
“It has to be fully investigated, so we don’t have anything like this happen again,” DuBose said.
Bolan again offered an apology for the “consequences” of his “lack of disclosure,” but the judge followed through on her threat to refer the attorney for potential discipline.
On Thursday, Chief Judge John McConnell, a Barack Obama appointee, issued an order transforming the referral into a probe of “possible misconduct.”
Finding it “appropriate” to appoint a special counsel, McConnell selected Roger Williams University School of Law Professor Niki Kuckes, a noted legal ethics expert and former clerk to conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, to “investigate the factual allegations to the extent deemed necessary, and provide a written report to the court” with recommendations “regarding further proceedings, if warranted.”
“Special counsel shall be provided with the case filings and records of any hearings regarding the allegations of attorney misconduct referenced in the referral and may take such additional steps as deemed reasonably necessary to ascertain the relevant facts,” the order said. “Special counsel is authorized to request documents, conduct interviews, and otherwise carry out the responsibilities of this appointment consistent with applicable law and the Local Rules of this Court.”
DuBose, as it happens, is an RWU Law alum.
One avenue of investigation could be the mismatch between an apologetic DOJ and a DHS that has not taken down or corrected a press release that falsely accused the judge of ignoring information she did not have.
DuBose has since ordered Gomez to be detained again, but ICE hasn’t found him yet.
