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Federal judge who sought female attorneys among class counsel has acknowledged sex-bias concerns, order says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 25, 2025, 9:21 am CDT

A federal judge who called for female attorneys to be “adequately represented” on the leadership team for plaintiffs in multidistrict contraceptive litigation has “acknowledged the concerns created by her statements,” according to an order closing an ethics inquiry.

U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers of the Northern District of Florida “has taken appropriate voluntary corrective action that acknowledges and remedies the problems created by her statements,” wrote Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta in the March 20 order.

Conservative activist Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project—a conservative group—filed a complaint against Rodgers after she said during a Feb. 21 case management conference and in a Feb. 23 order that she thinks that female attorneys have to be “adequately represented” on the leadership team given the female plaintiffs in the contraceptive drug Depo-Provera litigation.

Davis had released the complaint and his organization, the Article III Project, published online articles about it. He alleged that Rodgers’ statements amounted to discrimination based on sex and constituted judicial misconduct.

Rodgers omitted references to sex when she invited applications for leadership positions in a Feb. 28 order. All applicants would be considered based on merit, she said in the order. Then, in a March 13 hearing allowing nearly 70 applicants to give presentations, Rodgers said she would not give preferences to women to avoid the appearance of impermissible sex discrimination.

Pryor said Rodgers’ voluntary corrective action was sufficient while warning that judges can’t discriminate based on sex when selecting class counsel.

Pryor noted a 2013 statement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a cert denial in which he criticized a judge’s “unique” requirement that class counsel fairly reflect the composition of plaintiffs.

What Alito described as a unique practice “has been touted as a ‘best practice’ in multidistrict litigation,” Pryor said. “Commentators openly encourage judges who preside over these actions to consider impermissible characteristics like sex or race when they appoint leadership counsel.”

Notions about a lawyer’s ability to fairly and adequately represent class interests “must exist within the bounds of the rules that govern judicial conduct, and those bounds prohibit discrimination based on sex,” Pryor said.

Law360 and Reuters are among the publications with coverage of the order, noted by How Appealing.

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3. Judge acknowledged his ‘profane outburst’…

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Judge acknowledged his ‘profane outburst’ shocked himself, Florida court says in imposing suspension

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 3, 2024, 3:03 pm CST

A Florida judge has been suspended partly for a “profane outburst” in which he used the F-word and called a man in his courtroom an “a- -hole.”

The Florida Supreme Court suspended Judge Wayne Culver of Seminole County, Florida, for 60 days without pay and publicly reprimanded him for his “intemperate conduct” in two court proceedings in February 2022.

Publications with coverage of the Nov. 27 order include the Legal Profession Blog, the Florida Bar News, Law360 and WFTV with the News Service of Florida.

During his disciplinary hearing, Culver admitted shocking himself by the use of profanity, according to findings by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission cited by the Florida Supreme Court. Culver was experiencing “intense personal pressure and loss” at the time because he was caring for his dying father.

The F-word outburst involved a man looking for a seat in Culver’s courtroom. According to the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Culver yelled at the man in a loud, aggressive voice.

“Sir, I’m doing something here,” Culver said. “Could you shut up and sit down?”

The man explained that he was trying to find a seat. Culver then replied, “That’s not shutting up. You want to be held in contempt and go to jail? I asked you a f- – -ing question, a- -hole.”

The man answered, “No, sir,” spurring Culver to reply, “Then shut up.”

In the other incident, Culver found a man in direct criminal contempt of court for failing to complete a batterer’s intervention program and sentenced him to 179 days in jail. When the man asked to address the court, Culver cut him off. When a woman in the gallery stood up and began to address the court, Culver cut her off within a few seconds, telling her, “Ma’am, sit down, or you’re going to go into custody, as well.”

The man was not given a meaningful chance to offer mitigation testimony, a state appeals court found in the case. He was released in response to an emergency habeas petition after he had already spent more than a month in jail.

The Florida Supreme Court said it agreed with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission’s conclusion that Culver violated ethics rules requiring judges to conduct themselves with integrity; to be patient, dignified and courteous; and to maintain professional competence.

Witnesses at the disciplinary hearing said they had not seen Culver engage in the same type of behavior before or since. He also voluntarily received mental health counseling for the past two years and was remorseful and cooperative during the disciplinary process.

“As recounted by his peers,” the commission had said, “the public still holds Judge Culver in high standing and esteem.”

Culver was represented by Warren W. Lindsey of Lindsey, Ferry & Parker in Maitland, Florida. Lindsey did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s request for comment submitted through his law firm’s contact form.