Historic Federal Judge Caught in Affair with Top Atlanta Police Official

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Atlanta police are looking at allegations that one of their officers had sex with an Atlanta federal district court judge in her chambers.

[00:00:06]>> Yeah, the judicial council reprimanded the judge. This was back in February, and last week a committee affirmed the order. Good Day's Lindsey Tooman is live outside the federal courthouse. She joins us now with all the details.

[00:00:17]Lindsey, good morning.

[00:00:19]>> Good morning to you, Buck and Natalie.

[00:00:20]And that judge does remain on the bench.

[00:00:23]According to a report, she initially denied those allegations, but later admitted to what happened. So, according to the Associated Press, this judge had an extramarital affair with a high-ranking Atlanta police officer. The pair reportedly had sex in the judge's chambers. Law clerks reported overhearing multiple encounters, and security footage and logs also confirmed the officer frequently visited the judge's chambers in uniform around lunch. While the judge first denied the allegations, calling them outrageous, she later recanted and admitted to what happened. And a committee issued a private reprimand of the judge, which included writing apology letters. The committee also said she was unlikely to do this again and noted her otherwise exemplary service to the court. Now, the federal judge, that appointment is a lifetime appointment. So, the only way that she would be removed from the position is if she was impeached by Congress. No word on if that would actually happen. In the meantime, Atlanta police says it's investigating whether or not that officer in question is an employee of the Atlanta Police Department. We'll keep you updated on that, as well. Reporting live in downtown, I'm Lindsey Tooman for Good Day Atlanta.

[00:01:28]>> We really appreciate it, Lindsey. Thank you.

[00:01:31]>> And look how they protect these federal judges. They been knew about this. The public is just now finding out. They didn't even want to fully report on her while reporting on her. Well, here she is.

[00:01:43]I told you the city girls are not just in the streets of Miami. They're in the hospital room, the classroom, the boardroom, and the courtroom. Listen, days ago the AP tried to confirm who this judge was, and And wouldn't even tell them the judge's name and court location within the 11th Circuit were not disclosed and the Associated Press was unable to confirm the judge's identity. Well, some investigative journalists did some more snooping around and they found her. She's Judge Eleanor Ross, 58 years old, nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate on November 18th, 2014.

[00:02:20]Most known for handling the Todd Chrisley case where she sentenced Todd to 12 years in federal prison and his wife Julie to 7 years. She's been a federal judge for over 11 and a half years. A married woman, yeah, married to another judge. Her husband is DeKalb County State Court Judge Brian Ross. So, she cheated on her husband. And who did she cheat with? This guy right here. A high-ranking police official that's been with the Atlanta Police Department for decades. And where did she cheat? This right here low-down. She was cheating on her husband with the police in her chambers. Caught by court clerks who said they heard them in the act in her chambers on several occasions. He would come up there during her breaks so she could cheat on her husband and then everybody working there, all the women up there in the office, they heard it.

[00:03:13]>> News at 6, a federal judge and a high-ranking Atlanta police official are at the center of explosive allegations.

[00:03:20]>> It involves sexual encounters inside the judge's chambers during work hours.

[00:03:24]Tonight, Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashley Lincoln breaks down the judicial order. And Ashley, federal judges discovered this activity went on for years.

[00:03:33]>> Yeah, according to this 20-page order from the chief judge over the 11th District. Now, the report does not name the judge, but for the last 2 days, I've been speaking with sources and going through public records to identify the accused after federal employees complained about hearing intimate noises through the walls.

[00:03:51]>> You heard that? For years, she's been cheating on her husband inside the chambers for years.

[00:03:58]>> These are serious allegations.

[00:04:00]>> There are allegations of sexual encounters during work hours that a federal judge admitted to, according to this newly released judicial order. The report details an investigation launched after a complaint was filed against a federal judge last September.

[00:04:13]>> I don't think judges are perfect.

[00:04:14]They're human beings, too.

[00:04:15]>> Former federal prosecutor Doug Gilfillan says federal laws allow judges' identities to remain undisclosed in reports like these to protect the integrity of investigations.

[00:04:25]>> However, the law requires an order like this one to be made public if there's an imposition of discipline.

[00:04:31]>> The report claims the judge had sex on at least five occasions over a two-year period inside her chambers with a high-ranking police officer. Employees interviewed during the investigation described multiple incidents where they allegedly heard people having sex through the walls. One court clerk testified to hearing what was described as unsettling noises, kissing, and music coming from the judge's chambers.

[00:04:54]>> [cheering] >> Wait a damn minute.

[00:05:02]>> [laughter] >> Music? [music] What music? What these old behind people listening to? I know the judge not in there listening to no R. Kelly on the lunch break with the police officer, man. Just trifling. They should be ashamed of themselves. And those employees need to sue for emotional distress. This is just too much. They're coming to work trying to do their job, and them ladies got to come to work and deal with the residue of their boss, the judge, being a shameless 304, disrupting the whole workplace. They reportedly made her apologize to those employees, but I'm sorry. An apology is not enough. And you already know she's going to retaliate on them for telling on her. Nah, forget the apology. You need to pay them for their pain and stress you caused by having them listen to your mess every day.

[00:05:41]That's harassment. You had them working in a hostile environment. We're talking about a judge here.

[00:05:46]>> Why should the everyday person care about these allegations?

[00:05:49]>> The American legal system depends on honesty and truthfulness.

[00:05:53]>> This investigative report did not identify the judge or the officer, but multiple sources confirmed to Channel 2 that federal judge Eleanor Ross and Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Kelly Collier were the two accused. In the complaint, the judge's employee said she attended a primary election victory party for a district attorney on May 21st, 2024. A source provided Channel 2 this photo showing Ross at that party.

[00:06:17]>> And that's another violation. She's a federal judge. She's not supposed to be partisan or be on this political BS, attending any political gatherings or publicly endorsing and showing support for a candidate is a no-no.

[00:06:29]>> The order also says the judge presided over a hearing the following day.

[00:06:34]Channel 2 obtained federal court records showing Ross presided over a supervised release hearing on May 22nd, 2024. And regarding the officer, the chief judge wrote the officer has worked for the PD since 1998. Later adding that the officer has held this role since 2025.

[00:06:51]Atlanta police records show Collier joined the department in 1998 and his LinkedIn profile reflected a promotion in 2025. That LinkedIn page has since been taken down. I reached out to Ross, but a representative responded with no comment. The chief judge has already issued Ross a private reprimand and she agreed to write apology letters to her employees. She was also reprimanded for attending a political event as federal judges are prohibited from participating in political activities. The chief judge said harsher discipline was not imposed because of the judge's exemplary service to the court, along with the fact the judge ended the relationship and accepted responsibility.

[00:07:30]>> Accepted responsibility after first lying about it, when she had like five or six witnesses that heard everything she did. And if everybody came in her courtroom and accepted responsibility, then they should all get out of jail free, right? Accepting responsibility will be handing over her resignation letter. She's embarrassed her whole family. Her husband who's also a judge, they all know everybody. So, the whole city, the whole metro, and all the surrounding counties, they know all about what's going on with her. And all they can say is she's a good judge? How?

[00:07:58]This 304 was literally cheating on her husband on the job, in the chambers, on duty, during work hours. Are these people crazy? A good judge where? Nah, I need to see this so-called board. Who is on the board writing this foolishness?

[00:08:10]Who put this report together?

[00:08:12]>> In some ways this is a self-inflicted wound, and it just shows further distrust uh in the system by the public, and that's just not something that we need right now.

[00:08:23]>> And Atlanta police provided a statement this afternoon saying it launched an investigation to determine if the person mentioned in the federal report is an Atlanta police officer. Now, we've attempted to reach out to Collier and have not heard back.

[00:08:36]>> One is definitely him, and they need to fire him because he was on the clock, too, with a judge. This lasting several years. No telling what he's been doing for decades at that police department.

[00:08:46]And getting rid of a federal judge is a tough process, but they need to go ahead and get to it. I don't care how hard it is. Get her out of there. It's like they're just letting her off. Nah, put the pressure on her and have her submitting her resignation letter by close of business. How can she sit up there as a judge sentencing people to 5, 10, 15, 20 years fed time, but she can't even hold herself accountable. Too busy trying to be a 304. How she going to be a judge? Nah, OG City Girl Eleanor Ross, you got to go. Yes, get this city girl judge out of here. I'm sorry, you're an embarrassment. Now, when she first got her position, when she came in, there was a lot of hype about how she was the first black woman to serve as a judge in that northern district of Georgia. Well, ma'am, you have not been a good representative. You should really be ashamed of yourself. You have no business on the bench judging anybody.

[00:09:37]Look how you carry yourself. Just thirsty and conniving. Almost 60 years old. Like, what is this? It's like he's too old for this. She's supposed to be educated, law school. A federal judge acting like Sukihana on your lunch break. I can't. Let's go ahead and get the conversation started. Tell me what you think about this mess below. Big shout out to Randy. I appreciate you, Randy, for all your support for the channel. You can show your support as well. The link to PayPal is below.

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