CFTC Administrative Law Judge Developments -- It 's Getting Nasty

Sarah N. Lynch of Dow Jones Newswire has a story today that begins: “An administrative law judge [Judge George H. Painter] at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission heard and decided cases during a period when his wife said he struggled with mental illness and alcoholism, court records show.”  (The WSJ Online version can be found here. Subscription is probably required, but you can use Google News to search for information about CFTC ALJs.)

According to the article, Judge Painter is seeking to divorce his wife, Elizabeth Ritter, a long-term CFTC lawyer. She is seeking to be Judge Painter's guardian, but Painter's son and a niece are contesting this. The article states that the son and niece said in legal filings that "the judge doesn't exhibit the mental problems described in court records by his wife. Judge Painter's lawyer, Ms. Galloway Ball, said he intends to fight the guardianship case."

From what is now on the public record, the CFTC clearly has a big problem. Now that a reporter has apparently been steered to search court records involving a severe family dispute at the same time that Judge Painter's accusations concerning another ALJ's bias have become public, it seems probable we will learn more.