Court Opinion

ID: 9552160
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:05:37.491142+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:25:42.286716
License: Public Domain

Mowbray, L,
dissenting:
Respectfully, I dissent. As I see it, the narrow issue presented is whether a district judge may, when requested to do so, and without confessing bias, disqualify himself from a proceeding and transfer it to another judge. I believe he should have that power. As I understand today’s ruling, he will now be precluded from so doing unless he admits bias. Such a precedent is too restrictive. A court has the duty to give the parties a fair hearing, and the parties must know that they have received such a hearing. There may be cases where a judge himself feels he is not biased, yet in the interest of presenting a high standard of impartiality concludes that a requested transfer should be granted.
I am not suggesting that there is presently anything before us showing bias on the part of the respondent judge. If he had denied the request to step down, he may have been acting well within his power to do so, and the parties would have been left to their statutory remedies. I am only expressing the view that this court should let such a decision rest with the trial court.