A federal judge in Florida rejected allegations that he violated the judicial ethics code in discussing his book on Israel, including appearances from his chambers, according to an order dismissing a misconduct complaint against him.
Chief Judge William Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit in a Tuesday order dismissed the complaint against US District Judge Roy Altman, finding it “fails to present a basis for a finding of misconduct.”
“The Complaint makes allegations lacking sufficient evidence to raise an inference that Judge Altman exhibited bias, made inappropriate statements, violated the Code of Conduct, or otherwise engaged in misconduct,” Pryor wrote. He also said that Altman’s responses to the claims show they “lack any factual foundation or are conclusively refuted by objective evidence.”
Altman, who was nominated to a seat on the Southern District of Florida by President Donald Trump in 2018, has been an outspoken advocate of Israel in public appearances since the October 2023 Hamas attack. He has appeared at dozens of events and media appearances following the publication of his book “Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law” in April.
Attorney Katherine Giannamore had alleged that Altman violated multiple provisions of the code of conduct for federal judges by undermining the integrity of the courts and misusing judicial resources in promoting his book.
“Through the Judge’s public statements, social media activity, appearances with political figures and anti-Muslim advocacy groups that have been denoted as biased/hate groups, participation in events concerning highly-contested political issues that are actively being litigated in federal courts, and at times using controversial, demonizing terminology, Judge Altman has created an appearance of bias and partiality that diminishes respect for the judiciary and calls into question the fair and impartial administration of justice,” Giannamore wrote.
In response to the dismissal, Giannamore said she is “not surprised that Judge Pryor issued a swift dismissal,” suggesting that the federal judiciary has failed to take allegations of bias against Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians seriously.
She also took issue with Altman’s response, claiming that he minimized “his use of judicial resources and prestige of the judicial office” in his pro-Israel advocacy.
In the response published alongside the dismissal order, Altman called the allegations “baseless” and the complaint “meritless.” He also requested that his response be made public.
Altman pushed back against 10 allegations that he identified in Giannamore’s complaint, including that he used law clerks to help with his book. He said the acknowledgments section of his book notes that it was “former law clerks and interns” who helped him with research and citations, and that three current law clerks have attended events for his book outside work hours.
He also defended participating in public appearances from his judicial chambers, saying no court staff have worked on the appearances. “The ‘resources’ expended are simply the temporary use of the government’s otherwise-available internet connection,” Altman said, adding that judges regularly hold gatherings in chambers or teach courses through Zoom from there.
The judge also defended himself from describing the Palestinian keffiyeh as a “terrorism scarf.” He said that he was referring to college students who wear the scarf during campus protests while using “genocidal chants and slogans.”
Altman also denied having an anti-Muslim bias. “Most notably, in my courtroom, when the rubber meets the road, my view that Arabs and Muslims, no less than others, deserve equal treatment under the law has animated my judicial decisionmaking,” he said.