Washington ( CNN ) -- A judge 's claim that she was ordered to always rule in the U.S. Coast Guard 's favor in cases against civilian mariners can not be substantiated , the Department of Homeland Security inspector general concluded Tuesday . The inspector general also concluded that the judge 's two-year delay in coming forward with the allegation casts doubt on her veracity . Inspector General Richard L. Skinner 's 53-page report is a nearly complete victory for the Coast Guard 's administrative law judge program , which hears cases brought against merchant mariners , and a repudiation of retired Administrative Law Judge Jeffie J. Massey , who claimed the system was rigged in the Coast Guard 's favor . Massey , a judge from July 2004 until March 2007 , said in a court affidavit and later testified before Congress that Chief Administrative Law Judge Joseph N. Ingolia specifically told her in 2005 that she should always rule for the Coast Guard . Massey also said comments by fellow judges buttressed her belief that the Coast Guard should prevail on all cases . `` I was specifically told that I should always rule for the Coast Guard and that it I ever found myself faced with a circumstance when I just absolutely , positively could not find anyway to rule in favor of the Coast Guard on any issue , that I should rule against them , but word it delicately and just apologize for it as much as I could , '' she said . But the DHS Inspector General 's Office concluded Tuesday that , `` There is no evidence supporting ... Massey 's claim except her own statement . '' Massey 's brief employment at the Coast Guard `` was rife with conflict '' and there was a `` growing distrust '' between her and colleagues , the report says . `` These factors likely contributed to ... Massey 's belief that ( her boss ) and others were engaging in misconduct and pressuring her to rule against mariners , '' it says . Massey 's allegations roiled the administrative law judge 's office of the Coast Guard and sparked an investigation by the Baltimore Sun into the Coast Guard 's judicial system . The newspaper reported that mariners prevailed only 14 times out of about 6,300 charges brought over eight years . Most of the cases were settled or resulted in guilty pleas without reaching a courtroom , and some were dismissed , but overall Coast Guard prosecutors had a 97 percent success rate , the Baltimore Sun reported . The Skinner report , parts of which are redacted , apparently does not address the numerical findings of the Baltimore Sun . Massey said it was at an April 8 , 2005 , meeting that Ingolia told her to always rule in favor of the Coast Guard . Ingolia dismissed all but one colleague from the room before making the remark , she said . Massey cited several other reasons she believed she was to have a pro-Coast Guard bias . In one instance , she said , a fellow judge commented about one of his cases , saying , `` If I ruled that way , the Chief Judge would have my job . '' In yet another instance , Massey alleged , Ingolia and others engaged in improper conversations about pending cases . But the inspector general 's office said it could not substantiate any of Massey 's allegations . Both Ingolia and the senior staff member present at the 2005 meeting said Ingolia `` did not say anything that could reasonably be construed as directing ALJ Massey to rule in favor of the Coast Guard , '' the inspector general 's report said . `` Instead , they assert that ( Ingolia ) only instructed her to follow Coast Guard 's regulations . '' The staffer called Massey 's allegation `` a flat lie . '' Massey first made her allegation two months after she retired in an affidavit in support of a mariner in a $ 15 million lawsuit against Coast Guard employees . `` The timing and manner in which Massey made her allegations also undermine the gravity of the allegations , '' the report says .
A judge said she was expected to always speak for the Coast Guard in court . She enrolled in the Coast Guard 's administrative law judge program . An inspector general 's report said her claim could not be substantiated .