On their honor - Judges and their assets graphic
Finding out more


Date: 04/05/98 23:30

Here's how to check on a federal judge's investments:

  • Call the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts at (202) 273-4626 and request a copy of Form AO-10a, Request for Examination of Report Filed by A Judicial Officer.

    (A copy of the form also is available on this page. Click on the "Print the request form" menu item listed at left.)

  • Fill out the form, including a section demanding that you list the "organizations or persons on whose behalf this request is made."

  • Find a notary public. Sign the form in front of him. Then pay him to stamp the document with his official seal, as the Administrative Office requires. This certifies the information is true and that you realize lying could result in a $10,000 fine and five years in prison.

  • Mail the document to the Administrative Office in Washington.

  • Await word on the cost, set at 50 cents a page.

  • Mail a check to Washington.

  • Await the judge's disclosure reports. And be warned: By the time you get the reports, court officials will have notified the judge in writing that you are looking into his or her assets. They also will tell the judge your address, occupation -- and the organizations or persons on whose behalf you made the request.