Showing posts with label disclosure of conflicts of interest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disclosure of conflicts of interest. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Ethics Column: When to Recuse or Disclose?; American Bar Association (ABA), December 30, 2024

Hon. W. Kearse McGill , American Bar Association (ABA); Ethics Column: When to Recuse or Disclose?

"When judicial recusal should occur is a perilous topic to discuss these days; in fact, to describe it as perilous may even be an understatement given recent public attention on this topic.  As judges, most of us will become quite anxious if we are hearing a case where our impartiality could be questioned.  What should we consider when this issue presents itself?

As a starting point, we can consider the ethical concept that underpins the issue of recusal or disqualification (while recusal is a judge’s sua sponte withdrawal from a case and disqualification is removal based on a party’s motion or required by statute, both terms are often used interchangeably).  A judge’s ethical duty to recuse arises from the duty to act impartially, which is based in our understanding of procedural due process as a constitutional principle."