Law.com Litigation Trendspotter: Federal Judge Recusals Could Soon Be On the Rise—But Requesting Them Remains Risky
A bid to swap out the judge presiding over your case could quickly turn awkward.
January 21, 2022 at 12:17 AM
11 minute read
Credit: Shutterstock.com The Trend:
A bipartisan push in Congress for greater transparency on federal judges' financial ties, a proposed rule change for amicus filers and a vow by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. to ensure the judiciary's compliance with ethics canons could soon combine to cause an uptick in recusals and disqualifications.
But, as demonstrated by one jurist's reaction to recent allegations of a conflict of interest, lawyers who question a judge's impartiality do so at their own risk.
The Driver:
As Law.com's Jacqueline Thomsen reported, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act on a 422-4 vote Dec. 1 of last year. The measure would require judges to report stock trades of over $1,000 within 45 days. It would also require the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to create a publicly accessible online database of judicial financial disclosure forms. A companion bill has been introduce in the Senate.
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