Several judges acknowledged making their reports more comprehensive this year as a result of increased scrutiny of their finances. In April, The Star used reports from earlier years to show that federal judges presided over dozens of lawsuits against companies in which they owned stock, despite laws forbidding such conflicts. Since the articles, Congress has been pushing for wider distribution of the disclosure reports to help the public identify conflicts. Judicial officials have proposed reforms, too. No one, however, has tried to determine the accuracy of the reports.
Federal law makes it a crime for a judge to deliberately leave information off the statements.
Yet experts say they are unaware of a judge ever being prosecuted for a reporting lapse. The judges say they are just forgetful. Critics said judges would never accept such excuses from defendants in their courtrooms. They say judges' financial reports should be as accurate as those they file with the Internal Revenue Service. The disclosure forms are intended to let the public, litigants and the bar know the full financial interests of the judge.