In a surprising turn of events, former US Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who resigned in the midst of an ethical probe, is now attempting to quash a lawsuit that previously brought his undisclosed relationship with a bankruptcy attorney to public scrutiny. This relationship, with Elizabeth Freeman, then an attorney at Jackson Walker LLP, created suspicions of his impartiality back in October when Jones was serving as one of the nation’s top bankruptcy judges.
The ethical inquiry against Jones disappeared along with his resignation, a tactic quite familiar within judicial circles. Judicial departures have often led to the cessation of investigations, as was observed in the cases of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Alex Kozinski, and Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, among others.
The case that brought Jones’s impartiality under scrutiny was associated with energy company McDermott International’s bankruptcy, as the former shareholder Michael Van Deelen has filed a lawsuit against the judge. Van Deelen argued that Jones, due to his possible bias towards McDermott, which was represented by Jackson Walker, violated his rights by approving a bankruptcy plan that wiped out existing equity shares in the company.
Attempting to dismiss the lawsuit, Jones, who is representing himself, asserted that judicial immunity shields him from litigation related to his court orders. Jones further contended that any claims of unjust treatment should be addressed via an appeal of his McDermott bankruptcy ruling.
Considerably absent from Jones’s filing was any mention of his romantic relationship and the possible bias emerging from it. Instead, Jones seems to be focusing on transforming this into a purely legal argument, quite possibly to divert attention from his personal affairs and associated ethics inquiry.