All judges in California’s Eastern District of the U.S. District Court have been disqualified from hearing a case against a former Clovis resident accused of violating her son’s protective order.

Less than a week after Fresno-based U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston admonished a federal prosecutor but stopped short of dismissing the case, the district’s chief judge intervened.

Prosecutors allege that Shana Gaviola and Julio Sandoval, dean of the Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Missouri, conspired to take Gaviola’s son, Blake McGee, against his will.

If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison.

Prosecutor Accused of Misconduct

In a court filing, Gaviola accused Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney of “hitting on” her during a chance meeting at a downtown Fresno bar in 2023.

Tierney is also under consideration to become a magistrate judge — a position with many of the same powers as a Senate-confirmed federal judge.

Thurston, a Biden appointee, ruled that Tierney’s behavior did not violate Gaviola’s rights and denied her motion to dismiss. She called his conduct “nearly incomprehensible” and transferred the case to the Northern District, based in San Francisco.

Tierney removed himself from the case Sept. 28, about 10 days before Thurston’s ruling, but said he would continue interviewing witnesses.

In an order released Tuesday, Chief Judge Troy Nunley, based in Sacramento, recused all judges in the Eastern District from hearing the case.

“Therefore, on the Court’s own motion and pursuant to the Code of Conduct for United States Judge, Canons 2 and 3, in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and because a judge has a duty to disqualify him or herself if his or her impartiality could be reasonably questioned, whether or not such impartiality actually exists, the Court recuses itself,” Nunley wrote.

Canon 2 states that “a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.”

Canon 3 requires that “a judge should perform the duties of the office fairly, impartially and diligently.”

Although released Tuesday, Nunley’s order is dated Oct. 9 — one day after Thurston’s ruling.

McGee had a restraining order against his mother and had petitioned to become an emancipated minor. Prosecutors allege Gaviola and Sandoval arranged for McGee to be transported about 1,750 miles to the Missouri school in handcuffs. The school released him into his father’s custody eight days later.

Appeal Court Chief to Decide

Nunley also vacated Thurston’s order transferring the case to the Northern District. The case now goes to Chief Judge Mary Murguia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, who may assign it to any federal judge outside the Eastern District.

The Eastern District covers the eastern half of California, from the Oregon border to Kern County.

Gaviola’s attorney, George Pallas, called Nunley’s decision “uncharted territory.”

The court docket lists no trial date or location. It also does not specify when Murguia — an Obama appointee elevated to the appeals court during the Biden administration — will assign the case.