ABA seeking judicial recusal standard

An article from the Birmingham News this morning says “The American Bar Association, in a newly adopted policy, is urging states to set rules for judges to step down from cases involving campaign contributors, a sign of growing national anxiety over the influence of political money in the judicial system.

Thirty-nine states elect their judges, the article said, and the ABA said 20 percent of them have started to reexamine the issue of disqualification since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2009 regarding campaign contributions creating the appearance of bias. Alabama was at the forefront 16 years ago, when legislators passed a law calling for local judges to recuse themselves if a party or their lawyer contributed $2,000 to the judge's election; $4,000 for state appellate judges. But in a quirky stalemate between the Alabama Attorney General's Office and the Alabama Supreme Court, the law has never been enforced.

Back on March 3^rd., Ohio’s supreme court adopted amendments to its recusal/disqualification rules of practice which became effective in April.

Also, many regarded the Supreme Court’s decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal in June as landmark.

The U.S.Sixth Circuit further defined the scope of judicial recusal under federal law by weighing in on a judge’s close personal relationship with an attorney involved in a case in United States v. Prince (6th Cir., Case No. 08-6547, Aug. 26, 2010) [ Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog had more here ]