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A Private Reprimand From The Fifth Circuit With Dissents To Make It Public

How could it be that not a single member of the 11th Circuit Judicial Council thought to make Judge Betsy's reprimand public?

Josh Blackman | 5.30.2026 11:28 PM

I continue to remain confounded by the Eleventh Circuit's Judicial Council decision to make Judge Betsy's reprimand private. (Yes, I know her name, but Judge Betsy has stuck.)

As I noted in a post quickly written before sundown yesterday, the Council identified a clear conflict of interest, but left the public unaware of which judge possesses that conflict. How can litigants possibly determine if a judge should be disqualified if they do not know the identity of the judge? I would propose a per se rule: whenever the Council identifies a clear conflict of interest, the reprimand must be public.

How could it be that not a single member of the Eleventh Circuit Judicial council felt compelled to dissent? Indeed, the Eleventh Circuit does not even publish the names of the members of the Council on the memorandum, other than Chief Judge Pryor. I've been unable to find the current members of the Council anywhere........

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