Judicial Disqualification

Civil Rights & Constitution

An Interview with Judge Thelton Henderson

By Judge Mary-Margaret Anderson

Judge Thelton Henderson has an uncommon strength of character, humility, and commitment to the public interest. The proud recipient of the 2013 Thurgood Marshall Award from the ABA, Judge Henderson has had an extraordinary career as a public servant dating back to the civil rights movement.

Courts & Judiciary

The History of Judicial Disqualification in America

By Richard E. Flamm

This article examines the evolution of American recusal and disqualification law by first examining the underpinnings from Roman and English law and concluding with a brief description of the status of the law today.

Ethics

Judicial Disqualification and Friendships with Attorneys

By Cynthia Gray

Defining the degree of friendship that triggers judicial disqualification is difficult given the spectrum of social associations, including social media. But judicial ethics advisory committees can help. When an attorney who a judge knows appears in a case, the judge should apply a two-part test with subjective and objective components.

Courts & Judiciary

A Jurist and a Lawyer Consider Judicial Recusal After Caperton

By Judge N. Randy Smith and Robert S. Peck

Judicial disqualification remains an issue of widespread interest, particularly in the aftermath of the 2009 Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. Judge N. Randy Smith and Robert S. Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation share their perspectives on the impact of Caperton and the issue of judicial disqualification.

Courts & Judiciary

The New Tradition of Judicial Outreach: Survey Evidence from the States

By Elisha Carol Savchak and Amanda Ross Edwards

The bench and chambers are no longer the only purviews for judges, as today’s state supreme court justices are actively stepping away from their traditional territories to interact with the public through judicial outreach activities. The authors present the results of a nationwide survey sent to state supreme court justices about judicial outreach. As the survey results indicate, judicial outreach has been institutionalized in many states and among many justices across the United States as an accepted element of the 21st century judgeship.

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Courts & Judiciary

Technology and the Courts: A Futurist View

By Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr.

Judge Dixon takes stock of the increasing use of technology in court and litigation practices and offers his predictions of court technology developments in the near and distant future.

Ethics

Is Judicial Disqualification an Issue of Ethics or of Law?

By Marla N. Greenstein

While individual judges may differ in weighing the ethical requirements of avoiding the appearance of bias against the duty to decide matters assigned, the thoughtful balancing of these two interests provides an ethical structure for making final determinations.