More on the judicial smackdown: You’re the one who engaged in misconduct!

District Judge Robert Jones, who enjoined Nevada’s “None of These Candidates” as likely unconstitutional (see my post from a few hours ago), responded to the 9th Circuit’s order and Justice Reinhardt’s concurrence in particular here.  I agree with the commenters that he was probably better off remaining silent, since he does not justify his delays in dealing with this expedited request for an injunction.  But I also note that he accused Judge Reinhardt of breaking the rules.  Judge Jones says:

The undersigned was quite surprised when Judge Reinhardt contacted my Chambers through the Ninth Circuit Clerks Office and requested early entry of the order granting preliminary injunction, in light of a preliminary hearing date set by himself on the Defendants Emergency Motion to the Ninth Circuit for Stay Pending Appeal. I am not even sure if Judge Reinhardt was on the motions panel for the month of August, 2012, which panel is designated each month to hear all early motions in a case. Such contact for the purpose of influencing the lower court’s decision and earlier entry of its order, in order to establish appellate jurisdiction is an inappropriate judicial activity.

Translation: “You say I engaged in misconduct?  I say you engaged in misconduct!”

And for good measure, Judge Jones ends by saying: “Judge Reinhardt’s separate decision to impugn the integrity and motivation of the undersigned judge, together with his contact to Chambers through the Ninth Circuit Clerks’s Office, was an example of assumption of power by one individual which is not acceptable in our judicial system.”

I have a feeling things may be a bit frosty the next time these two cross paths.

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