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Thursday, March 22, 2007
Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals judge rejects recusal motion
On Jan. 24, 2007, the Court of Appeals issued a 3-0 NFP opinion in the case: In Re the Visitation of M.S. and K.S. by Next Best Friend Beverly R. Newman (NFP). Judge Baker wrote the 26-page opinion, in which Judges Darden and Robb concurred.
Yesterday a 4-page NFP Memodandum Decision on Rehearing, was posted, dated March 20, 2007, authored by Judge Robb. Some quotes:
Appellant-Petitioner Beverly R. Newman has moved that I disqualify myself from participation in this case. More specifically, she has filed a petition for rehearing from this court’s decision in the case of In re the Visitation of M.S. and K.S., No. 29A05-0606-CV-322 (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 24, 2007), in which we affirmed the trial court’s denial of Newman’s request for court-ordered grandparent visitation. In part, she seeks rehearing “in order for Justice [sic] Robb to address whether recusal is appropriate . . . .” * * *Newman alleges that because I am the chairperson for the Indiana Family Courts Task Force and Judge Steve David, the trial court judge in this case, is a member of the Task Force, our “close working relationship” for many years on this task force “give[s] rise to an appearance of impropriety with respect to [my] participation on the panel herein . . . .” * * *
To the extent Newman is intending to imply by her allegation that I am in a position to “direct and evaluate Judge David” that I have any control over Judge David’s disposition of his cases, the allegation is spurious. To the extent that she is arguing that I have a special interest in protecting Judge David’s reputation as an honest, impartial, competent judge by affirming his orders because we serve on the same task force, I have no more interest in protecting Judge David’s judicial reputation than I do any other judge of this state. Parties are certainly entitled to request recusal when they think the facts and circumstances warrant; however, they should be certain that the facts and circumstances justify the request. The only concrete allegation Newman has made is that Judge David and I serve on the same task force and this fails to show even the appearance of impropriety. No reasonable person aware of the circumstances would question my impartiality in this matter, and I therefore decline to recuse myself from these proceedings.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 22, 2007 08:47 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions