More than Half of Federal Appeals Judges Traveled on Sponsored Trips; One Was Olympics Arbitrator
More than half of federal appeals judges took one or more sponsored trips in 2010, and nearly 10 percent of those who traveled went to foreign destinations.
The figures are based on disclosure reports obtained by the National Law Journal for 253 active and senior appeals judges. (A few reports weren’t available.) Most often the trips were made for teaching, attending conferences, or participating in meetings for a bar association or nonprofit group.
One judge, Juan Torruella of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Boston, took one of the more unusual trips. He traveled to the winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he was chief administrative officer for the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Some additional findings:
• Top law school trip sponsors were Yale, Arizona State University (which held a forum on the future of legal education), George Mason University, and Brooklyn Law School.
• Senior Judge Harry Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reported the most trips. Chief Judge Randall Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was second for most reported trips. “This is not pleasure-tripping,” Rader told the NLJ. He said his hard work benefits the court and those who learn more about its work and expectations.
• About half the judges received outside noninvestment income in 2010. “The most common sources of income were pensions, teaching and author royalties,” the NLJ says, “though some judges reported small incomes from record sales, firefighting, ministering and the Alaska Permanent Fund, which collects royalties on that state’s natural resources.”
