WASHINGTON — After his open criticism of Justice Samuel Alito in an op-ed in The New York Times, the Article III Project (A3P) filed a judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Michael Ponsor, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, to the Judicial Council of the First Circuit.
In the complaint, filed by A3P Founder and President Mike Davis, he calls for the Judicial Council of the First Circuit to “take all appropriate steps to remedy this unfortunate situation caused by Judge Ponsor’s profoundly poor judgment.” Late last week, Ponsor wrote in The New York Times that Alito is “taking sides” and working in a way that “erodes trust” in the judicial system after flying an upside-down American flag and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag.
“This is highly inappropriate, baseless, and prejudicial political speech by a judge against another judge while he is deciding the legal fates of criminal defendants going through the judicial process. Judge Ponsor provided no support for his assertion that ‘a great many people’ view these flags as partisan symbols,” continued Davis.
Acknowledging the timing of the piece, Davis noted, “there are two January 6 pending cases before the Supreme Court, so those are the only current cases to which Judge Ponsor could have directed his New York Times musings. Judge Ponsor certainly knew the New York Times, where he decided to moonlight on May 24, had published two pieces on this political saga on May 16 and 22. And the same day Judge Ponsor’s political piece debuted, United States Senators Richard Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts citing the New York Times reporting and requested that the Chief Justice ensure Justice Alito’s recusal from these two pending cases.”
This is the second judicial complaint filed by the Article III Project in the last two months. A3P filed a complaint against Judge Reggie Walton, a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, after Walton went on CNN and criticized President Trump during his New York judicial proceeding.
The Article III Project (A3P) was founded by veteran GOP operative and attorney Mike Davis, who, after helping win the Senate confirmation battles of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, developed the reputation as a “take-no-prisoners conservative eager to challenge the left with hardball tactics,” as reported in The New York Times.
A3P defends constitutionalist judges, punches back on radical assaults on judicial independence (like court-packing) and opposes judicial and other nominees who are outside of the mainstream. Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges.
