A bill to improve judicial machinery by amending title 28, United States Code, to broaden and clarify the grounds for judicial disqualification.
PL 93-512 (S.1064), enacted 12/05/1974

88 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 93-512-DEC. 5, 1974 
1605 
Public Law 93-512 
AN ACT 
Decembers, 1974 
To improve judicial machinery by amending title 28, United States Code, to . 
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broaden and clarify the grounds for judicial disqualification. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress CLssembled^ That section 455 
Judicial dis-
of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
''"^ ^ ^'^^ '°"' 
*'§ 455. Disqualification of justice, judge, magistrate, or referee in 
bankruptcy 
"(a) Any justice, judge, magistrate, or referee in bankruptcy of 
the LTnited States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which 
his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. 
"(b) He shall also disqualify himself in the following cir-
cumstances : 
"(1) Where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a 
party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts con-
cerning the proceeding; 
" (2) Where in private practice he served as lawyer in the matter 
in controversy, or a lawyer with whom he previously practiced 
law served during such association as a lawyer concerning the 
matter, or the judge or such lawyer has been a material witness 
concerning it; 
" (3) Where he has served in governmental employment and in 
such capacity participated as counsel, adviser or material witness 
concerning the proceeding or expressed an opinion concerning the 
merits of the particular case in controversy; 
"(4) He knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his 
spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial 
interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the 
proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially 
affected by the outcome of the proceeding; 
"(5) He or his spouse, or a person within the third degree of 
relationship to either of them, or the spouse of such a person: 
"(i) Is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director, or 
trustee of a party ; 
"(ii) Is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding; 
"(iii) Is known by the judge to have an interest that could 
be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; 
"(iv) Is to the judge's knowledge likely to be a material 
witness in the proceeding. 
" (c) A judge should inform himself about his personal and fiduciary 
financial interests, and make a reasonable effort to inform himself about 
the personal financial interests of his spouse and minor children resid-
ing in his household. 
"(d) For the purposes of this section the following words or 
Definitions. 
phrases shall have the meaning indicated: 
"(1) 'proceeding' includes pretrial, trial, appellate review, or 
other stages of litigation; 
"(2) the degree of relationship is calculated according to the 
civil law system; 
"(3) 'fiduciary' includes such relationships as executor, admin-
istrator, trustee, and guardian; 
Waiver of dis 
qualification. 
1610 
PUBLIC LAW 93-513-DEC. 6, 1974 
[88 STAT. 
" (4) 'financial interest' means ownership of a legal or equitable 
interest, however small, or a relationship as director, adviser, or 
other active participant in the affairs of a party, except that: 
"(i) Ownership in a mutual or common investment fund 
that holds securities is not a 'financial interest' in such securi-
ties unless the judge participates in the management of the 
fund; 
"(ii) An office in an educational, religious, charitable, 
fraternal, or civic organization is not a 'financial interest' in 
securities held by the organization; 
" (iii) The proprietary interest of a policyholder in a mutual 
insurance company, of a depositor in a mutual savings asso-
ciation, or a similar proprietary interest, is a 'financial 
interest' in the organization only if the outcome of the pro-
ceeding could substantially affect the value of the interest; 
"(iv) Ownership of government securities is a 'financial 
interest' in the issuer only if the outcome of the proceeding 
could substantially affect the value of the securities. 
"(e) No justice, judge, magistrate, or referee in bankruptcy shall 
accept from the parties to the proceeding a waiver of any ground 
for disqualification enumerated in subsection (b). Where the ground 
for disqualification arises only under subsection (a), waiver may 
be accepted provided it is preceded by a full disclosure on the record 
of the basis for disqualification." 
SEC. 2. Item 455 in the analysis of chapter 21 of such title 28 is 
amended to read as follows: "Disqualification of justice, judge, magistrate, 
or referee in bankruptcy.". 
jionappiicabii. 
g^,^ 3 rpj^-g ^^^ gj^^jj ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^.^^j ^f ^^^ proceedlug com-
28 use 455 
menced prior to the date of this Act, nor to appellate review of any 
"°*®' 
proceeding which was fully submitted to the reviewing court prior 
to the date of this Act. 
Approved December 5, 1974. 
Public Law 93-513 
December 6, 1974 
J O I N T 
R E S O L U T I O N 
[s. J. Res. 248] Assuring compensation for damages caused by nuclear incidents involving the 
nuclear reactor of a United States warship. 
Whereas it is vital to the national security to facilitate the ready 
acceptability of United States nuclear powered warships into 
friendly foreign ports and harbors; and 
Whereas the advent of nuclear reactors has led to various efforts 
throughout the world to develop an appropriate legal regime for 
compensating those who sustain damages in the event there should 
be an incident involving the operation of nuclear reactors; and 
Whereas the United States has been exercising leadership in develop-
ing legislative measures designed to assure prompt and equitable 
compensation in the event a nuclear incident should arise out of the 
operation of a nuclear reactor by the United States as is evidenced 
in particular by section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
42 use 2210. 
amended; and