Opinion ID: 2300815
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Motion for Reconsideration and Recusal

Text: Appellant next contends his due process rights were violated because according to a newspaper report, later found to be inaccurate, the PCRA court judge contemplated running for District Attorney of Philadelphia County and sought the incumbent District Attorney's support. Appellant claims this evidences the judge's strong bias towards the Commonwealth. Appellant further purports that if judicial integrity and neutrality preclude the participation of a judge who formally prosecuted a case, Commonwealth v. Parrish, 250 Pa.Super. 176, 378 A.2d 884, 886 (1977), then it follows that a judge who intends to become the prosecutor of a case is prohibited from participating. Accordingly, appellant argues the PCRA court judge abused his discretion for failing to recuse himself. Upon a recusal motion, the judge makes an independent, selfanalysis of the ability to be impartial. If content with that inner examination, the judge must then decide whether his or her continued involvement in the case creates an appearance of impropriety and/or would tend to undermine public confidence in the judiciary. This assessment is a personal and unreviewable decision that only the jurist can make. Once the decision is made, it is final.... This Court presumes judges of this Commonwealth are honorable, fair and competent, and, when confronted with a recusal demand, have the ability to determine whether they can rule impartially and without prejudice. The party who asserts a trial judge must be disqualified bears the burden of producing evidence establishing bias, prejudice, or unfairness necessitating recusal, and the decision by a judge against whom a plea of prejudice is made will not be disturbed except for an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Druce, 577 Pa. 581, 848 A.2d 104, 108 (2004) (citations omitted). The PCRA court properly denied appellant's motion for reconsideration and recusal. The judge's assessment of appellant's PCRA petition was in conjunction with applicable law and was wholly supported by the record below. PCRA Court Opinion, 7/23/08, at 5. Upon reviewing appellant's recusal motion, the judge vacated the dismissal order, held a hearing on appellant's motion, and reinstated the order, finding appellant's claim meritless. The PCRA court found the newspaper article incorrectly quoted the judge as intending to seek the incumbent District Attorney's support. Id., at 1. Thus, in light of the facts as they existed, and not as they were surmised or reported[,] the judge's impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned. Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 541 U.S. 913, 914, 124 S.Ct. 1391, 158 L.Ed.2d 225 (2004) (citation omitted). Accordingly, appellant fails to establish the presiding judge abused his discretion in declining to recuse himself from the case.