California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4.5 - Division of Workers' Compensation › Subchapter 1 - Administrative Director-Administrative Rules › Article 1.6 - Ethical Standards of Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judges; Enforcement of Standards › Section 9721.12 - Disqualification

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) A judge is
					 disqualified in a workers' compensation case if any of the following is true:
(1) The judge has personal knowledge of
					 disputed evidentiary facts.
(2) The
					 judge served as lawyer for a party in the past two years.
(3) The judge has actual bias in favor of or
					 against any party and the judge has substantial doubt as to his or her capacity
					 to be impartial.
(4) Because of
					 physical impairment, the judge is unable to perceive evidence or properly
					 conduct proceedings.
(5) Within the
					 past two years, the judge served as a lawyer for an officer, director, trustee
					 of a party.
(6) Within the past two
					 years, the judge was associated in private practice, as an employee or on a
					 contract basis, with a lawyer in the proceedings.
(7) The judge, the judge's spouse, or minor
					 child of the judge, personally or as a fiduciary, has a financial interest in
					 the subject matter in a proceeding or in a party to the proceeding, or has a
					 relationship of director, advisor, or active participant to a party to the
					 proceeding.
(8) The judge, the
					 judge's spouse, a relative of either within the third degree of relationship,
					 or spouse of such relative, is likely to be a material witness.
(9) A party to the action before the judge,
					 or the party's spouse, is related within the third degree of relationship to
					 either the judge or to the judge's spouse.
(10) The judge believes that recusal would
					 further the interests of justice or believes there is a substantial doubt as to
					 his or her capacity to be impartial.
(11) The judge has actual bias against or in
					 favor of an attorney for a party and the judge has a substantial doubt as to
					 his or her capacity to be impartial. A judge is not disqualified as to other
					 members or associates in a law firm, or as to the law firm itself, solely
					 because of actual bias against or in favor of individual attorneys in or
					 associated with the firm. Actual bias in favor of or against an attorney does
					 not in itself create the appearance of bias as to a law firm of which the
					 attorney is a member or associate. A doubt of a person aware of the facts that
					 a judge could be impartial towards a law firm or other members or associates of
					 a law firm, based only on knowledge of a judge's bias in favor of or against an
					 individual attorney or attorneys, is not a doubt which is reasonably
					 entertained. If the workers' compensation appeals board, on a petition for
					 disqualification alleging bias against or in favor of an attorney, determines
					 that a judge is disqualified because of the appearance of bias or because a
					 person aware of the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge
					 could be impartial, it shall not be presumed, as to a law firm of which the
					 attorney is a member or associate, or as to other members or associates of the
					 law firm:
A. that there is the appearance of
					 bias; or
B. that a person aware of
					 the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge could be
					 impartial.