Another from David Kluft: “Should the judge’s first cousin be once removed?” —

• “An SC Circuit Judge was assigned to a court where the judge’s first cousin’s firm frequently practices. The judge is recusing from the cases litigated by the cousin, but asked the Advisory Committee on Standards of Judicial Conduct if recusal was required for all cases involving the cousin’s firm?”
• “The Committee opined that under the SC rules, judges have to recuse when a litigant is within the ‘third degree of relationship’ to the judge, which includes parents, kids, grands, nieces, nephews, uncles and aunts. Cousins are not within this category, and neither are other lawyers at a cousin’s firm, so recusal is not required, but recusal may still be appropriate if the relationship is such that the judge’s impartiality could be questioned.”
• Decision: here.

“Former Highland Capital CEO Seeks Judge’s Recusal, Citing Her Novels as Evidence of Bias” —

• “In a unique twist to an ongoing legal battle, the former CEO of Highland Capital Management, James Dondero, has leveraged the novels authored by a federal judge as part of his latest effort to seek the judge’s recusal from a case central to the company’s contentious bankruptcy proceedings. Dondero argues that the novels reflect potential biases that could adversely affect the fairness of the judicial process.”
• “The issue at stake is the involvement of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey G. C. Jernigan, who has written several novels under the pseudonym L. A. Starks. Dondero claims that the characters and themes in Jernigan’s work suggest a predisposition that could taint her rulings in the complex financial disputes surrounding Highland Capital. He posits that specific character portrayals and plot lines might not be coincidental and raise reasonable doubts about impartiality.”
• “This unusual argument brings to the fore questions about the intersection of personal expression and judicial responsibility. While judicial recusal requests are typically grounded in concrete financial or personal interests that could lead to a conflict of interest, Dondero’s appeal introduces the interpretation of fictional literature as potential evidence in evaluating a judge’s ability to remain unbiased.”
• “The effectiveness of such an argument remains to be seen, as legal experts are divided on whether references in fiction should impact a judge’s standing to preside over a case. Some view this approach as a strategic maneuver designed to prolong proceedings, while others consider it a legitimate concern. The scrutiny of private writings of public officials is not entirely unprecedented, but it is rare in the context of judicial recusal controversies.”