174 former judges ask for dismissal of DOJ complaint against Minnesota bench

U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz speaks at a symposium at the University of St. Thomas School of Law on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer)Former federal and state judges sent a letter Monday requesting the dismissal of a misconduct complaint filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice against nearly every federal judge in Minnesota.  Minnesota’s federal judges, including U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was until recently the chief judge for the District of Minnesota, spoke to the New York Times in September about the impact of Operation Metro Surge on the courts. The federal government’s actions during the immigration crackdown — mass arrests of non-criminals, a lack of resources for the courts and local prosecutors, and failure to follow more than 200 court orders — “created a grave threat to the rule of law,” Schiltz said. The DOJ filed a misconduct complaint with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the District of M