US judge reprimanded for having sex in chambers apologises: ‘I have no excuse’

An investigation initiated last year by the chief judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit found that US District Judge Eleanor Ross had sex in the courthouse with a high-ranking uniformed police officer within earshot of staff, attended a partisan event and initially lied when confronted with the allegations.

Ross wrote in the letter dated Thursday that her “actions were patently wrong, and there is no excuse”.

“You deserved better than to have your experience marred by my own offensive conflict,” says the letter, which was first reported by The New York Times.

Ross was nominated to the bench in the Northern District of Georgia in 2014 by then president Barack Obama, a Democrat.

The investigation of Ross began after one of her law clerks reported that on multiple occasions the judge had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office during working hours. It also was alleged that the judge did not properly supervise clerks and on one occasion yelled and cursed at staff.