The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated that nearly 1,000 attorneys in its Civil Division complete a one-hour ethics course following a judicial finding of misconduct. This action stems from a ruling by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who found that DOJ attorneys misled him during an immigration case involving 26 states challenging President Barack Obama’s immigration policies.
The judge determined that the lawyers gave the false impression that none of the 2014 changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program had taken effect, when in fact, they had. As a result, Judge Hanen initially demanded three hours of ethics training for every Washington-based DOJ attorney appearing in court in the involved states. However, the order was temporarily suspended, allowing the DOJ to submit an alternative response.
In a filing, the DOJ denied any deliberate deception but acknowledged that mistakes were made, leading to the current situation. The ethics course, which is in addition to the attorneys’ standard training requirements, may be a measure to address the judge’s concerns and avoid further legal repercussions.
