Court Opinion

ID: 9430431
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:29:43.792918+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:24.502892
License: Public Domain

Justice Brennan,
concurring.
I agree with the Court that, given Justice Embry’s interest in the outcome of this case, his participation in its disposition violated due process. As the Court notes, resolution of the issues raised in the appeal below enhanced the viability and settlement value of Justice Embry’s own lawsuit. Such an interest clearly required recusal under our decisions in Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U. S. 510 (1927); In re Murchison, 349 U. S. 133 (1955); Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U. S. 57 (1972); and Gibson v. Berryhill, 411 U. S. 564 (1973). As Justice Black explained in In re Murchison:
“A fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process. Fairness of course requires an absence of actual bias in the trial of cases. But our system of law has always endeavored to prevent even the probability of unfairness. To this end no man can be a judge in his own case and no man is permitted to try cases where he has an interest in the outcome.” 349 U. S., at 136.
I write separately to set forth my understanding of certain statements in the Court’s opinion. First, the Court stresses that Justice Embry’s interest was ‘“direct, personal, substantial, [and] pecuniary.’” Ante, at 824 (quoting Ward, supra, at 60); see also ante, at 826. I do not understand that by this language the Court states that only an interest that satisfies this test will taint the judge’s participation as a due process violation. Nonpecuniary interests, for example, have been found to require recusal as a matter of due proc*830ess. See, e. g., In re Murchison, supra (judge who presided over a “one-man grand jury” also presided over contempt proceedings relating to events which took place in the grand jury proceedings). Moreover, as this case demonstrates, an interest is sufficiently “direct” if the outcome of the challenged proceeding substantially advances the judge’s opportunity to attain some desired goal even if that goal is not actually attained in that proceeding. See, e. g., Ward v. Village of Monroeville, supra (mayor’s adjudication of traffic fines, which contributed to city finances, violated due process); Gibson v. Berryhill, supra (proceedings by Alabama Board of Optometry enjoined because Board members were competitors of petitioners and therefore stood to gain competitively). Nothing in the Court’s opinion should be read, as I understand it, to limit these precedents in any way. Rather, the Court clearly indicates the contrary in acknowledging that the interests which trigger due process condemnation “‘cannot be defined with precision.’” Ante, at 822 (quoting In re Murchison, supra, at 136).
Second, the Court points out that Justice Embry obtained a favorable settlement in his own lawsuit several months after the Alabama Supreme Court handed down its decision in this case. But even without that settlement, Justice Embry’s participation in this case deprived appellant of due process. The deprivation occurred when Justice Embry took part in the deliberations and decision of the Alabama Supreme Court in this case. At most — and, again, I do not read the Court’s opinion to say otherwise — the fact of the later settlement merely confirms that Justice Embry had a substantial interest in the outcome of this case.
Finally, I understand that the Court’s opinion is not to be read to suggest that the outcome might be different had Justice Embry not provided the necessary fifth vote in the court below. That fact too is irrelevant — Justice Embry’s participation in the court’s resolution of the case, while he was fully aware of his interest in its outcome, was sufficient *831in itself to impugn the decision. The description of an opinion as being “for the court” connotes more than merely that the opinion has been joined by a majority of the participating judges. It reflects the fact that these judges have exchanged ideas and arguments in deciding the case. It reflects the collective process of deliberation which shapes the court’s perceptions of which issues must be addressed and, more importantly, how they must be addressed. And, while the influence of any single participant in this process can never be measured with precision, experience teaches us that each member’s involvement plays a part in shaping the court’s ultimate disposition. The participation of a judge who has a substantial interest in the outcome of a case of which he knows at the time he participates necessarily imports a bias into the deliberative process. This deprives litigants of the assurance of impartiality that is the fundamental requirement of due process.