The procedures for the consideration and processing of complaints under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 351-364, are governed by the Judicial Conference Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings and the Eighth Circuit Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings. A complaint of judicial misconduct or disability must be filed in paper form with the Clerk of Court, United States Court of Appeals, 111 South 10th Street, Room 24.329, St. Louis, MO 63102.
The complaint procedure applies to judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, United States District Judges of the ten district courts within the circuit, United States Bankruptcy Judges of the ten districts, and United States Magistrate Judges of the ten districts. The circuit includes the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, the District of Nebraska, the District of North Dakota, the District of South Dakota, and the District of Minnesota.
Complaints about other officials working for the federal courts should be made to their supervisors in the various courts. If such a complaint cannot be resolved at lower levels, it may be referred to the chief judge of the court in which the official is employed.
Anonymous complaints will not be accepted for filing. As provided in the commentary to Rule 4, “[a] person who seeks to report information of misconduct or disability on a confidential or anonymous basis may proceed through various alternative avenues within the judiciary, including the Office of Judicial Integrity and/or comparable offices within the circuits.”
The link below is to the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings.
Rules on Filing Judicial Complaints
The links below are to instructions and a form to assist filers in preparing complaints. These instructions were prepared by the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability and are intended to provide general information about the process.