Still More on Contributions to Judges

by Brian Wolfman

    Jeff Sovern's new post on contributions by lawyers to judges before whom they practice, and Deepak Gupta's interesting response highlighting the Avery v. State Farm cert. petition, implicate the question whether current judicial procedures for litigating recusal questions are up to the task.  A consumer plaintiff seeking the recusal of a judge who has received contributions from the defendant faces serious difficulties making a record and obtaining a neutral decision maker.  My former colleague Amanda Frost has written an intriguing article highly critical of current procedures and suggesting reforms.  See "Keeping  Up Appearances: A Process-Oriented Approach to Judicial Recusals," 53 Kan. L. Rev. 531 (2005).