Recusal of a Judge

A Level Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00As you may have heard, the judge has kind of an important role in court.

00:05And in civil court, a judge is often the be-all end-all of a case,

00:10with the entirety of a decision falling on their black-robed shoulders.

00:14So the last thing you need is to stand in front of a judge who won't give you a fair trial.

00:19If this is the case, for one reason or another, there is something you can do.

00:24That is, if the judge does not disqualify themselves first.

00:28That something is filing a motion to recuse or disqualify the judge from your case,

00:34essentially getting the judge removed so that another unbiased judge may oversee the proceedings.

00:40There are four reasons a judge may be eligible for recusal.

00:44One, that the party fears that he or she will not receive a fair trial or hearing

00:49because the judge is prejudiced or biased against you,

00:53be it based on race, gender, cultural background, or some other reason.

00:58Two, the judge is related to one of the parties involved in the case.

01:02Three, the judge is related to one of the lawyers involved in the case.

01:07And four, the judge is a material witness in the case.

01:11Now, going back to what your motion, which must be in writing, should contain,

01:15you must state the specific facts and reasons for your motion.

01:19If you are filing the motion because you believe the judge cannot be fair,

01:22the facts and reasons you give should cause a reasonable person in your shoes

01:26to fear that this judge could not give them a fair trial.

01:30Then, you must swear to the motion, either by signing it under oath or by including a separate affidavit.

01:37The motion should be filed within 10 days of whatever event caused you to question the judge's impartiality.

01:43A judge should rule on the matter immediately, but is allowed 30 days from when the motion is filed.

01:49If there is no response within the 30 days, the motion is automatically granted.

01:54When a judge rules on your motion, she should not decide whether or not she is actually biased

01:58or whether the facts of your motion are true.

02:01She should rule only on whether those facts, assuming they are true, are enough for recusal under the rule.

02:07And once a judge is recused and replaced by a substitute judge,

02:11a motion can be filed to reconsider all of the old judge's previous case rulings,

02:16which a party has 20 days to do from the date of recusal.

02:20Removing a judge can seem like getting in over your head.

02:23It's not, and LegalYou can help you make sure of that.

02:27LegalYou, where the courtroom is not just for lawyers.