Impeaching Eleanor Louise Ross, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1351 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1351

  Impeaching Eleanor Louise Ross, Judge of the United States District
    Court for the Northern District of Georgia, for high crimes and
                             misdemeanors.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 2026

   Mr. Clyde (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Ogles, Mrs. Biggs of South
Carolina, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Carter of
Texas, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida, Mr.
  Babin, Mr. Brecheen, Mr. Self, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Biggs of Arizona)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

  Impeaching Eleanor Louise Ross, Judge of the United States District
    Court for the Northern District of Georgia, for high crimes and
                             misdemeanors.

    Resolved, That Eleanor Louise Ross, a Judge of the United States
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, is impeached for
high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of
impeachment be exhibited to the Senate.
     Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and all of the
people of the United States of America, against Eleanor Louise Ross, a
judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against her for
high crimes and misdemeanors.

                               article i

     Incident to her position as a United States District Court Judge,
Eleanor Louise Ross has engaged in conduct with respect to improper
sexual activity in chambers with a law enforcement officer that is
incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in her as a judge, as
follows:
            (1) For a period of roughly 2 years, from around October
        2023 through October 2025, Judge Ross participated in an
        extramarital affair with high-ranking Atlanta Police Department
        officer, Kelley Collier.
            (2) Mr. Collier was undoubtedly involved in numerous
        criminal and civil cases being litigated in the Northern
        District of Georgia.
            (3) Judge Ross did not disclose the affair to any other
        judge, court staff member, or litigating party.
            (4) The undisclosed affair created the possibility that
        Judge Ross would be assigned to handle a case in which Mr.
        Collier or his employing police department had an interest,
        thus creating or appearing to create a conflict of interest.
            (5) Further, Judge Ross and Mr. Collier, while in Judge
        Ross' chambers and during business hours, engaged in intimate
        contact, including, by admission of Judge Ross, sexual
        intercourse.
            (6) At least 3 of Judge Ross' former clerks heard sounds
        resulting from the intimate contact coming from Judge Ross'
        chambers, thereby adversely affecting those staff members.
            (7) Judge Ross' conduct regarding the relationship
        demonstrated a gross lack of judgment and created an
        uncomfortable and troubling workplace for staff members.
            (8) Moreover, the undisclosed affair left Judge Ross
        vulnerable to extortion, as the Officer's spouse and Judge
        Ross' spouse were both unaware of the relationship, and the
        relationship could be used as leverage against a sitting
        Federal judge.
            (9) Judge Ross' behavior violated multiple provisions of
        the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, including--
                    (A) Canon 2, which provides that ``a judge should
                avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in
                all activities'';
                    (B) Canon 2(A), which adds that ``A judge should
                respect and comply with the law and should act at all
                times in a manner that promotes public confidence in
                the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary''; and
                    (C) the commentary to Canon 2(A), which further
                explains that ``public confidence in the judiciary is
                eroded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges,
                including harassment and other inappropriate workplace
                behavior''.
     Wherefore, Judge Eleanor Louise Ross is guilty of high crimes and
misdemeanors and should be removed from office.

                               article ii

     Eleanor Louise Ross engaged in judicial misconduct by attending a
partisan political event, as follows:
            (1) Judge Ross attended an event hosted by Fulton County
        District Attorney Fani Willis' campaign, as conceded by Judge
        Ross during the investigation.
            (2) Judge Ross attended the event the evening before she
        was scheduled to preside over a criminal revocation proceeding
        in her own courtroom.
            (3) The following morning, Judge Ross stated to court
        interns and staff that she had consumed ``too many martinis''
        the night before at an event hosted by the district attorney's
        campaign.
            (4) Judge Ross violated the Code of Conduct for United
        States Judges, including--
                    (A) Canon 5, which states that ``a judge should
                refrain from political activity''; and
                    (B) Canon 5(A)(1)(3), which explicitly prohibits a
                judge from attending ``a dinner or other event
                sponsored by a political organization or candidate''
                and a ``political organization'' includes ``a group
                affiliated with a political party or candidate for
                public office''.
     Wherefore, Judge Eleanor Louise Ross is guilty of high crimes and
misdemeanors and should be removed from office.

                              article iii

     Eleanor Louise Ross corruptly obstructed, influenced, or impeded
an official proceeding, as follows:
            (1) In September 2025, the Chief Circuit Judge of the
        Eleventh Circuit received a complaint against Judge Ross based
        on a memorandum received from the Chief District Judge of Judge
        Ross' court that suggested possible misconduct by Judge Ross.
            (2) On September 29, 2025, the Chief Circuit Judge notified
        Judge Ross of the report made by the Chief District Judge and
        requested that Judge Ross respond to the allegations in the
        Chief District Judge's memo no later than October 20, 2025.
            (3) Later the same day, Judge Ross submitted a response
        that denied each allegation and characterized the allegations
        as ``outrageous'' and ``baseless''.
            (4) The same day, Judge Ross also sent an email to the
        Chief District Judge denying the allegations and denying that
        Judge Ross knew the identity of the alleged visitor to her
        chambers.
            (5) On September 30, 2025, after receiving Judge Ross'
        response, the Chief Circuit Judge appointed a special committee
        to investigate the allegations in the complaint. The special
        committee subsequently retained experienced counsel to assist
        in conducting the investigation.
            (6) The special committee found that Judge Ross made
        numerous, material false statements to the Chief Circuit Judge
        and the Chief District Judge when initially responding to the
        allegations.
            (7) Specifically, Judge Ross falsely stated ``I have never
        engaged in sexual intercourse in my office, nor anywhere else
        in the Courthouse''. Judge Ross further falsely stated that she
        was ``not sure who this allegation concerns or whether it is
        alleged to have occurred with different individuals'' and that
        she was ``astounded and confused, and have no idea what this
        clerk is referring to''.
            (8) Judge Ross did not recant these false statements until
        October 10, 2025, 11 days after making them, by which time the
        special committee had already gathered significant
        corroborating evidence. The special committee found that Judge
        Ross' recantation came only after she likely knew her false
        statements had been, or were about to be, exposed, and declined
        to treat the recantation as absolution.
            (9) Rule 4(a)(5) of the Judicial-Conduct Rules states that
        cognizable misconduct includes ``refusing, without good cause
        shown, to cooperate in the investigation of a complaint''.
            (10) Judge Ross' failure to truthfully respond to Chief
        Judge Pryor's inquiry constituted a failure to cooperate in the
        investigation of the complaint and thus an instance of
        cognizable judicial misconduct.
            (11) Not only did Judge Ross fail to fulfill her duty to
        self-report under Rule 4(a)(6), but her false statements to
        Chief Judge Pryor and to the Chief District Judge constituted
        affirmative attempts to prevent the Chief Judges from learning
        of her misconduct, thereby obstructing the judicial conduct
        process established by Congress.
            (12) Further, under Section 1001 of Title 18, United States
        Code (18 U.S.C. 1001), it is a felony to ``knowingly and
        willfully'' make ``any materially false, fictitious, or
        fraudulent statement or representation'' on any ``matter within
        the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial
        branch'' of the Federal Government.
            (13) In making numerous, material false statements to the
        Chief Circuit Judge and the Chief District Judge, Judge Ross'
        conduct would constitute a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C.
        1001 in any other Federal context, reflecting the gravity of
        the misconduct and the degree to which it subverted the
        integrity of an official proceeding.
     Wherefore, Judge Eleanor Louise Ross is guilty of high crimes and
misdemeanors and should be removed from office.
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