Opinion ID: 1872176
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: recusal and the supreme court

Text: The issue of recusal by justices of the Supreme Court involves special considerations given Const. 1963, art. 6, § 2. This is because, unlike members of the trial courts or the Court of Appeals, there can be no replacement of a justice who must recuse himself or herself. Unlike those courts in which a substitute judge can take the place of a recused judge, there is no such availability on the Supreme Court. Instead, upon a recusal by a justice, this Court must proceed with less than a full contingent of its members. Not only does this increase the likelihood of an even division of the Court's memberseffectively rendering null and void the work of the Court and leaving intact lower court decisions that a majority of justices may view as wrongly decidedit also deprives the public and litigants of the full collegial body that they have selected as the state's court of last resort. These unfortunate consequences do not mean that a justice must not recuse himself or herself in appropriate instances, but they do suggest that a justice must consider carefully the implications of a disqualification decision. That is, when it is not necessary to recuse, it is necessary not to recuse. Each unnecessary recusal adversely affects the functioning of the Court. It is for similar reasons that the federal courts have developed the duty to sit doctrine. Pursuant to this doctrine, there is an obligation to remain on any case absent good grounds for recusal. Laird v. Tatum, 409 U.S. 824, 837, 93 S.Ct. 7, 34 L.Ed.2d 50 (1972) (noting that the court of appeals had unanimously concluded that judges have a duty to sit when not disqualified that is equally as strong as the duty not to sit when disqualified). [W]here the standards governing disqualification have not been met, disqualification is not optional; rather, it is prohibited. In re Aguinda, 241 F.3d 194, 201 (C.A.2, 2001); cf. SCA Services v. Morgan, 557 F.2d 110, 113 (C.A.7, 1977); explanatory note I.3 to 28 USCS 455.