Opinion ID: 2517933
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mr. King's Lawsuit

Text: ¶ 38 Mr. King asserts that because hearing officer Schoeggl was adverse to Mr. King in a lawsuit that existed during Mr. King's disciplinary proceedings, Mr. Schoeggl lacked the appearance of fairness. Mr. King added Mr. Schoeggl's name to a pending lawsuit only after Mr. Schoeggl was appointed as hearing officer. Given the relief sought by Mr. King's suit, there appears to be no meritorious reason for adding Mr. Schoeggl as a party. ¶ 39 One cannot manufacture an appearance of unfairness by merely filing a lawsuit against the presiding official. See, e.g., United States v. Pryor, 960 F.2d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 1992) (It cannot be that an automatic recusal can be obtained by the simple act of suing the judge.) (citing Ronwin v. State Bar of Arizona, 686 F.2d 692, 701 (9th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 938, 103 S.Ct. 2110, 77 L.Ed.2d 314 (1983)). Mr. King's suit against Mr. Schoeggl casts no taint on Mr. Schoeggl's appearance of fairness and is not grounds for disqualifying Mr. Schoeggl as the hearing officer, alone or in concert with other allegations.