US Trial Judge Acknowledges ‘Abusive Workplace’ in Chambers (2)

A federal district court judge within the Fourth Circuit acknowledged creating an “environment and atmosphere” in their chambers that “resulted in an abusive workplace,” according to a judicial order.

A former clerk alleged the unnamed judge “subjected him to harassment, verbal abuse, bullying, erratic behavior, and other abusive conduct,” according to the order signed by Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Albert Diaz.

That judge is US District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby of the Maryland federal trial court, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A person in Griggsby’s chambers referred a request for comment to the Maryland court’s chief deputy clerk, who said the court and the judge had no comment.

Griggsby, a President Joe Biden appointee, joined the court in 2021 after serving on the US Court of Federal Claims and working as a Senate aide and Justice Department lawyer. Griggsby is currently presiding over the criminal trial of high-profile US Supreme Court advocate Tom Goldstein, who took the stand in his case Wednesday.

According to the order, Diaz found the judge had created “a workplace culture where complainant and his co-clerk were afraid to ask questions and felt compelled to go to great lengths to avoid incurring the judge’s displeasure.”

The clerks described being chastised for minor errors, receiving minimal training and limited guidance, and being discouraged from asking questions while getting harsh feedback, the chief judge found. “Both experienced health issues that they attribute to the stress of their clerkships,” Diaz wrote.

“Although the subject judge disputes some of the allegations in the judicial complaint, the judge accepts that the environment and atmosphere in the chambers at that time resulted in an abusive workplace,” Diaz wrote in the order. “The subject judge deeply regrets the impact of the judge’s actions on the chambers staff.”

The order dated Dec. 17, 2025 was first reported Tuesday by NPR.

The alleged misconduct included berating the clerk for sending the judge an unfinished draft and “constantly” interrupting and belittling him over the phone.

The complainant said the judge would give law clerks “a verbal browbeating” if they couldn’t provide the exact details at weekly docket review meetings on more than 200 cases assigned to them.

Former clerks described the review meetings as “intense,” “unpleasant,” “stressful,” and “harsh,” but the subject judge said they weren’t aware the clerks “ever felt uncomfortable during” the sessions.

The complainant and his co-clerk eventually resigned from the judge’s chambers and transferred to working with another judge after only serving 14 1/2 months and 2 1/2 months of their respective two-year clerkships.

The subject judge “cooperated fully with the inquiry” and agreed to remedies, including participating in discussions every two months about workplace conduct issues and proper management of chambers staff for 18 months.

Diaz concluded the judicial complaint “on the grounds that appropriate corrective action has been taken.”

The order came roughly a week after the chief judge for the Boston-based US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found “probable cause” that a federal district judge within the circuit had treated litigants, lawyers, or judiciary employees in a hostile manner or created a hostile work environment.