A now-retired federal judge took medical leave for treatment of severe alcoholism more than seven months after court officials in Louisiana received a complaint questioning her ability to serve on the bench, a court filing shows. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed a committee to investigate the April 2016 complaint about U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi's "possible disability," according to an order dated Aug. 23 and signed by the New Orleans-based court's chief judge. The court hadn't disclosed the complaint or committee's investigation prior to issuing the order. Details of the April 2016 complaint and the investigation weren't disclosed in the order. In February 2016, Minaldi was pulled off a man's fraud case following a series of mistakes in routine trial procedures.

Source: ABC News September 11, 2017 17:03 UTC