Judiciary
‘No further explanation is warranted’ for TRO opinion with made-up allegations, parties, federal judge says
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate of the Southern District of Mississippi in August 2022. Wingate recently issued an opinion referring to nonexistent allegations, parties and declarations and has refused to provide an explanation. (Photo by Rogelio V. Solis/The Associated Press)
A federal judge who issued an opinion referring to nonexistent allegations, parties and declarations has refused to provide an explanation other than to attribute the problems to “clerical errors.”
In an Aug. 1 order, U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate of the Southern District of Mississippi denied a motion to address the apparent factual inaccuracies and to post the old and the new opinions for “completeness of the court docket.”
“No further explanation is warranted,” Wingate wrote.
Wingate had removed the incorrect July 20 opinion from the docket and replaced it with a corrected version that was filed and stamped July 20 but dated and signed July 22.
Wingate pointed out that neither party sought dissolution or modification of the opinion, which granted a temporary restraining order blocking a Mississippi law. The statute at issue prohibits programs in public education that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or that endorse concepts such as gender identity and gender theory.
Wingate said he is permitted to correct “clerical mistakes and errors arising from oversight or omission” under his inherent authority and Rule 60(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans “recognizes that courts may amend filings to correct inadvertent errors without affecting the substance of the ruling,” Wingate said. “The correction here falls squarely within this principle.”
Wingate withdrew the opinion on the same day that U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals of the District of New Jersey withdrew an opinion that misstated case outcomes and contained fake quotes from opinions. The New Jersey case is not related to the Mississippi litigation.
In Wingate’s withdrawn opinion, he cited “specific institutional impacts” from the withdrawal of DEI offices and initiatives at three state universities, even though there are no allegations to that effect in the complaint, according to a motion filed by the Mississippi attorney general’s office.
The withdrawn TRO also stated that faculty members at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, “have been instructed not to discuss gender theory or historical interpretations involving systemic racism,” although evidence in the record and lawsuit allegations do not support that claim, the attorney general’s office said.
Reuters and Law360 have coverage of Wingate’s denial of the motion to clarify.
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