A federal judge who directed racial insults at a Latino attorney has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination amid an investigation into her conduct. U.S. District Judge Ada Brown’s cases have been temporarily reassigned, and she has been excluded from receiving new assignments. Investigators are also examining her treatment of court employees and her handling of unfinished judicial business.
The courtroom confrontation occurred during an April 2026 hearing in Dallas involving attorney Ezra Young, who represented a Black professor challenging Southern Methodist University over a tenure denial. Brown had previously revoked his permission to practice before her. The hearing concerned whether Young should face sanctions, and Brown accused him of mistreating Black attorneys involved in the litigation.
The inquiry subsequently reached beyond Brown’s exchanges with Young. Investigators examined her recusal from more than 40 cases since June 1st, including matters that had already reached trial or concluded. They also identified a backlog of 78 undecided motions and raised concerns about her refusal to communicate with staff or return to work.
Fox News reported the examination order on October 30th. Bloomberg Law, which reviewed the hearing transcript, detailed Brown’s comments about Young’s race. Brown invoked “Black excellence” and “White mediocrity” while addressing him. Young replied, “I’m not White, Your Honor,” and explained that he is Latino. Brown then described him as White-presenting and later asserted that he had White privilege.
Young subsequently complained about Brown’s conduct. In her written response, Brown denied acting inappropriately or having the mental health issue raised in his complaint. She nevertheless acknowledged that she could have approached the discussions about race “more delicately.” Young’s complaint and Brown’s response later became public after she distributed documents to judges, attorneys and journalists.
The Fifth Circuit Judicial Council’s September 29th order, released in October, documented the broader investigation. The committee directed Brown to undergo an independent psychiatric examination within 30 days of September 21st. The council then reassigned her cases for three months or until another order, whichever came first. Its action addressed the administration of her docket separately from the ongoing misconduct proceedings.
An October 20th committee order described another dispute over Brown’s disclosure of confidential materials. According to the committee, she sent documents to approximately 140 judges, lawyers and journalists in an email transmitted around 1:26 a.m. on October 17th. The attachments included sealed records from two apparently unrelated attorney-discipline matters. Investigators directed her to explain the disclosures and identify the separate investigation she cited as grounds for refusing to participate.
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The committee had offered Brown an opportunity to testify under oath, present evidence and obtain witnesses or documents through subpoenas. It warned that continued refusal to cooperate could become an additional subject of investigation. The panel also said it would have to submit findings and recommendations without her response if she continued declining to participate.
Brown then failed to appear for the October 30th investigative interview, Reuters reported. The three-judge panel waited approximately half an hour before Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod brought the proceedings toward a close. “Judge Brown has not arrived,” Elrod said. “No one has appeared on behalf of Judge Brown.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.