US judge reveals confidential details of criminal investigation

A federal judge will not be disciplined after being found to have disclosed information about an ongoing criminal investigation that may have helped the target obstruct the investigation.

According to a recently released order from the Judicial Council for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, the unnamed judge was accused by a law enforcement agency of disclosing “sensitive and confidential information related to a police investigation into public corruption” to a family member after learning about it during a closed hearing in a criminal case.

It was alleged that the information was then passed on to the target of the investigation, “and that disclosure would have enabled the…”