The Justice Department is requesting that an Atlanta judge, who faced disciplinary action for a scandalous encounter with a high-ranking police officer in his office, step back from a significant legal dispute regarding access to Georgia’s election records.
On Friday, federal prosecutors submitted a motion for Judge Eleanor Ross, 58, to disqualify herself from the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
In their filing, Justice Department attorneys asserted that Judge Ross, reprimanded just last week for her alleged affair with Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Kelly Collier, should remove herself from the Department’s conflict with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the state’s voting documentation.
This move follows a revised final report approved by the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council on December 10, 2025.
Additionally, the judge participated in an event linked to the campaign of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, as noted in the investigative report.
Judge Ross, appointed during the Obama administration, has confessed to attending a personal meet-and-greet with prior colleagues within the state district attorney’s office as part of a larger partisan gathering tied to her campaign.
The Justice Department maintained that her participation at this event raised concerns regarding her impartiality.
The memo highlighted that her presence at the political gathering, and the publicity surrounding it, could damage public trust in the judiciary’s independence and neutrality.
“It is difficult for a judge, who celebrated alongside a Democrat known for prosecuting a Republican president on election interference charges, to oversee a case related to the president’s endeavors to uphold election integrity,” the Justice Department lawyers stated in their motion.
Prior to her judgeship, Ross was part of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office during the time that coincided with future prosecutor Willis’s tenure.
Judge Ross had planned to convene a hearing concerning her case against Raffensperger on Wednesday, but following the Justice Department’s request, the hearing was postponed due to a cancellation notice.
Willis had previously indicted Trump on extortion allegations in 2023, but those charges were dropped in 2025 after it came to light that she had been romantically involved with the lead prosecutor for that case.
In January 2026, the FBI conducted a raid in Fulton County, seizing ballots and various election-related materials amid President Trump’s accusations of fraud during the 2020 election.
Judge Ross directed Georgia to extend the deadline for accepting mail-in ballots back in September 2020.
Last week, Ross, who is married to Georgia State Court Judge Brian Ross, received a disciplinary sanction for engaging in sexual activity with Collier, 55, while in her chamber.
The report indicated that the Obama appointee showed a “serious lack of judgment” during a two-year affair from 2023 to 2025, which involved sexual acts occurring “in the chamber and during business hours.”
Her conduct reportedly created an “unpleasant and inconvenient office workplace” for her clerical staff.
Judge Ross has not yet responded to requests for comments.
