A longtime federal judge appointed during the Reagan administration has left the bench, saying retirement will give him the freedom to speak more openly about the direction of the American legal system.
The decision ends a lengthy judicial career and places him at the center of a larger national conversation about courts, ethics, constitutional government, and the role former judges should play in public life.
Federal judges with lifetime appointments are expected to avoid overt political commentary while serving, in part to protect confidence in the impartiality of the courts. The retiring judge said those expectations had made it harder for him to address issues he views as important to the future of the rule of law.
Why He Says He Is Leaving Now
In public remarks, the judge said stepping down would allow him to participate more freely in discussions about constitutional governance and judicial independence without raising the same ethical concerns that apply to sitting judges.