Opinion ID: 1290821
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Motion to Recuse

Text: Scenic contends the district court erred in denying Scenic's motion to recuse because the district judge appeared biased in favor of the defendants based on the defendants' religious affiliation. We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to recuse. Moran v. Clarke, 296 F.3d 638, 648 (8th Cir.2002) (en banc). Under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), a judge shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Because § 455(a) sets forth an objective standard, whether a judge actually is biased or actually knows of a ground requiring recusal is irrelevant. Moran, 296 F.3d at 648. Rather, the issue is whether the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned by the average person on the street who knows all the relevant facts of a case. Id. (quotation omitted). Because a judge is presumed to be impartial, a party seeking recusal bears the substantial burden of proving otherwise. United States v. Martinez, 446 F.3d 878, 883 (8th Cir.2006). We presume the honesty, integrity, and impartiality of those serving as judges. See Dyas v. Lockhart, 705 F.2d 993, 997 (8th Cir. 1983). The Supreme Court has recognized that judicial remarks during the course of a trial that are critical or disapproving of, or even hostile to, counsel, the parties, or their cases, ordinarily do not support a bias or partiality challenge. Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540, 555, 114 S.Ct. 1147, 127 L.Ed.2d 474 (1994). Nor do expressions of impatience, dissatisfaction, annoyance, and even anger, that are within the bounds of what imperfect men and women, even after having been confirmed as federal judges, sometimes display. Id. at 555-56, 114 S.Ct. 1147. Scenic asserts the following actions by the district judge demonstrate a reasonable appearance of bias: (1) crediting a witness's testimony because the witness was a church member; (2) allowing cross-examination of Scenic's witnesses regarding their religious affiliations on the basis it implicated credibility; (3) allowing cross-examination of witnesses regarding their knowledge of the Baptist denomination; (4) questioning one of Scenic's witnesses based on the district judge's extrajudicial knowledge regarding the Baptist denomination; (5) making unnecessary statements on the basis of the defendants' religious affiliations; (6) making unwarranted, sua sponte objections to Scenic's counsel leading an adverse witness who was also a defendant; (7) allowing repeated witness voir dire by defense counsel; (8) refusing to admit over thirty proffered plaintiff exhibits; (9) prohibiting Superior's loan officer from testifying on certain matters relevant to Scenic's claims; (10) denying Scenic's motion for summary judgment after raising an issue sua sponte without allowing Scenic to respond; and (11) engaging in other conduct demonstrating an unfavorable predisposition to Scenic. Many of Scenic's characterizations of the district judge's conduct distort the record and are taken out of context. For instance, Scenic contends the district judge inappropriately rebuked Scenic's counsel for questioning Givens's honesty and then credited Givens's testimony on the basis of his Baptist denomination. During the receivership hearing, Scenic's counsel attempted to enter an exhibit for the purpose of demonstrating that the New Board and Tabernacle functioned as the same entity. The district judge rejected counsel's offer, noting Givens had just testified the two entities were not one and the same. Scenic's counsel replied, He's lying, Your Honor. The district judge responded the witness was under oath to tell the truth and he's a church member. He instructed Scenic's counsel, As an officer of the court you must respect a witness, and further stated, Don't allege for the record that [the witness] is lying when he has taken an oath to tell the truth. Contrary to Scenic's assertions, nothing indicates the district judge improperly credited Givens's testimony on the basis of his religious affiliation or beliefs. The circumstances of this case and the law applicable to Scenic's ability to foreclose a mortgage on Tabernacle's property necessitated, or, at a minimum, justified, an examination of matters of congregational church governance and of Tabernacle members' authority to encumber church property. Thus, reviewing the aforementioned exchange in context leads us to conclude the district judge probably noted Givens, by virtue of being a Tabernacle member, had personal knowledge to testify about matters of congregational organization and governance. For similar reasons, the allowance of cross-examination of Scenic's witnesses regarding their religious affiliations and their knowledge of the Baptist church did not require the district judge's recusal. The witnesses in question were loan officers of Superior and were called by Scenic to testify about the validity of the 1999 mortgage and the 2001 note assigned to Scenic by Superior. Both witnesses were asked whether they were members of the Baptist church, and whether they were familiar with or had investigated either the organization of Baptist churches or the authority of church trustees to mortgage or transfer church property. We reject Scenic's assertion that allowing such relevant questioning improperly injected religion-based bias into this legal dispute. Scenic also challenges the district judge's questioning of one of Scenic's witnesses based on the district judge's extra-judicial knowledge regarding the Baptist denomination. [3] [O]pinions formed by the judge on the basis of facts introduced or events occurring in the course of the current proceedings . . . do not constitute a basis for a bias or partiality motion unless they display a deep-seated favoritism or antagonism that would make fair judgment impossible. Id. Here, the district judge's questions do not reveal or suggest unequivocal favoritism or antagonism, and Scenic fails to demonstrate such questions were improperly derived from impermissible extrajudicial knowledge rather than on the record of the case itself or from representations made by the parties or their attorneys. See White v. Luebbers, 307 F.3d 722, 731 (8th Cir.2002) (So long as the court's expressed views come from the record of the case itself, or from representations properly made by the parties or their lawyers, nothing improper has occurred.). In further support of its bias argument, Scenic notes that in the receivership hearing the district judge repeatedly interrupted Scenic's counsel during direct examination of Givens and instructed Scenic's counsel to avoid asking leading questions. Scenic called the defendant Givens as a witness; thus, Givens was an adverse witness. Scenic contends the district judge's sua sponte objections violate Federal Rule of Evidence 611(c), which allows a party to conduct an examination using leading questions when an adverse witness is called. The standard, acceptable, and preferred procedure is to permit counsel to lead an adverse or hostile witness on direct examination. However, Rule 611(c) is permissive and must be read in context with the trial court's general authority and discretion to control the conduct of the trial. The impact of the district court's ruling, however, appears minuscule, particularly when Scenic does not allege the district judge denied any request during trial to pose leading questions to this witness. [4] We perceive no substantial right of Scenic was affected. See Fed.R.Evid. 103(a). Scenic argues other examples of the district judge's bias occurred when the district judge sustained an objection on the ground of speculation, commenting, The Good Lord hasn't empowered us to tell what's in the crevices of the mind as of this time. Later, in denying Scenic's motion for a receiver, the district judge stated, I'd like to emphasize, here is a religious constitution committed to upholding the standards of Christ, that is, be right and righteous. Here is an entity with more than a hundred members who are dedicated to serving mankind and treating neighbors and associates in a Godly fashion. Notwithstanding the questionable propriety of these judicial comments, we must view them under the totality of the circumstances, and not in isolation. Upon doing so, we reject Scenic's assertion that these statements would demonstrate an apparent bias in favor of the defendants when evaluated by the average person on the street knowing all the relevant case facts. The inquiry whether a reasonable person, informed of all the relevant facts and circumstances of the case, would perceive bias or partiality by a judge warrants consideration of the judge's course of rulings and conduct. Moran, 296 F.3d at 649. In arguing the district judge's rulings and conduct contributed to the appearance of religious favoritism and thus required recusal, Scenic challenges a multitude of unfavorable rulings or remarks by the district judge that occurred during the receivership hearing and the later trial on the mortgage foreclosure action. Although we recognize Scenic's dissatisfaction with the district judge's rulings and conduct, we decline to deem them evidence of bias or partiality. The grounds Scenic asserts in favor of recusal consist mainly of judicial rulings, routine trial administration, and unremarkable admonishments, all of which are inadequate to require the district judge's disqualification. See Liteky, 510 U.S. at 555, 556, 114 S.Ct. 1147 (recognizing judicial rulings alone almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality motion). Keeping in mind Scenic's substantial burden to prove bias and partiality, we conclude an average observer, being informed of all the facts and circumstances of the case, would not reasonably question the district judge's impartiality. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Scenic's motion to recuse.