One would have thought that the question "can a judge belong to a private club that has never had female or minority members -- even if not as an announced policy?" had been answered NO long ago.
But the Sixth Circuit judicial council, by a bare majority vote, thinks such (prolonged) membership is not a basis for discipline, which means judges can belong to these clubs with impunity. Imagine you are a plaintiff in a race or sex discrimination case before such a judge.
This is a sad event for equality, for the rule of law, and for the federal judiciary, at least within the Sixth Circuit
The opinion is on the howappealing.law.com website.
[Opinon and dissents; Findings of Fact, Analysis, Recommendation; How Appealing post. The material in these brackets added by edtior.]