Congress closes loophole letting judges escape misconduct investigations by resigning
H.R. 3150 — TRUST Act · Filed by Hank Johnson (D-GA) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced May 1, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal law to prevent judicial misconduct complaints from being dismissed or abandoned when the judge under investigation resigns, retires, or dies. Currently, judges can escape accountability by leaving office; this bill requires that complaints proceed to completion regardless of the judge's departure.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative purpose is to close a procedural loophole that allows judges to escape misconduct investigations by resigning or retiring. It is a straightforward accountability mechanism with no market relevance or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Judges facing complaints may face reputational pressure to remain in office longer to contest findings, or may accelerate retirement to avoid prolonged investigation.
- Complaint investigations may extend years beyond a judge's departure, creating administrative burden on the judiciary and potential delays in case resolution.
- The bill does not specify a statute of limitations or deadline for completing investigations after a judge's departure, potentially leaving cases open indefinitely.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens benefit from judicial accountability and transparency: judges cannot evade investigation by resigning, and the public record of misconduct remains available even after a judge leaves office. This strengthens public trust in the judiciary and deters misconduct by eliminating a loophole.
Named in the bill
U.S. House of Representatives, House Committee on the Judiciary, Federal judiciary, 28 U.S.C. § 352, 28 U.S.C. § 353
Where it stands
10 cosponsors: 10 Democrats.
- May 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 1, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,186 characters) on Oct 17, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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