According to the complaint, Martin deliberately withheld a petition demanding that the full court hear the affirmative action case for five months, during which time two conservative justices were given Senior Status and would therefore be unable to rule on the case. The result of this maneuver was a 5-4 decision in favor of Judge Martin's position, which upheld the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action program. Judge Martin further violated the rules when he inserted himself onto a three-judge panel appellate to hear the case. The panel was supposed to have been chosen randomly.

Judge Alice M. Batchelder, one of Martin's colleagues on the bench, reviewed the case and issued a ruling on May 28 that agreed with Judicial Watch, concluding that, indeed, Martin manipulated court procedures to ensure a result favorable to his personal views. However, rather than issuing a punishment or reprimand, the court decided to order an internal review of its proceedings and now considers the matter concluded. According to Judicial Watch, this is not only insufficient, but also inconsistent with the law.

According to 28 U.S. C. 352(b)(2), judicial misconduct complaints can only be "concluded" by the chief judge if he or she finds that "appropriate corrective action has been taken or that action on the complaint is no longer necessary because of intervening events." Neither has occurred in this case. The "corrective action" taken does not address the admitted conduct, and there have been no intervening events to make further corrective action unnecessary.

"A simple review of the court¹s procedures does nothing to correct for Judge Martin¹s behavior," said JW President Tom Fitton. "Irreparable harm has been done with respect to the public's perception of the judiciary. And without proper punishment, there can be no assurance that Judge Martin will cease his offensive and ethically vacuous behavior."

Judicial Watch filed a petition with the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council asking it to review Judge Batchelder's order, and take appropriate corrective action. A decision is expected this month.