Court Opinion

ID: 9490220
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:36:36.487659+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:57.724357
License: Public Domain

TATEL, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I agree that the district judge had no obligation to recuse himself under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). Maj. Op. at 951. As the Supreme Court explained in Liteky v. United States, “opinions formed by [a] judge on the basis of facts introduced or events occurring in the course of the current proceedings, or of prior proceedings, do not constitute a basis for a bias or partiality motion unless they display a deep-seated favoritism or antagonism____” 510 U.S. 540, 555, 114 S.Ct. 1147, 1157, 127 L.Ed.2d 474 (1994); see also United States v. Roach, 108 F.3d 1477, 1483-84 (D.C.Cir.1997). “[Jjudicial rulings alone,” the Court announced, “almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality motion[.] ... [o]nly in the rarest circumstances [do they] evidence the degree of favoritism or antagonism required____” Liteky, 510 U.S. at 555, 114 S.Ct. at 1157. Because Barrett argues for recusal on the basis of knowledge the district judge acquired and rulings it made in the course of Bryant’s trial and Barrett’s proceedings and because he makes no allegation of “deep-seated favoritism or antagonism,” the judge was not required to recuse.
I disagree, however, with the court’s further, and apparently unnecessary, statement that “Barrett did not request recusal below and has therefore waived his right to do so *955Unlike 28 U.S.C. here.” Maj. Op. at 951. § 144, which provides for recusal upon motion by a party, section 455(a) imposes an independent obligation on judges: “Any justice, judge, or magistrate of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) (emphasis added). Failure to move for recu-sal may lower the standard of appellate review, see Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b) (“Plain errors or defects affecting substantial rights may be noticed although they were not brought to the attention of the court.”), but because section 455 requires judges to consider recu-sal sua sponte, Christiansen v. National Sav. & Trust Co., 683 F.2d 520, 524 (D.C.Cir.1982), such failure cannot entirely bar appellate review of a judge’s exercise of this statutory duty. See, e.g., Noli v. Commissioner, 860 F.2d 1521, 1527 (9th Cir.1988) (“Failure to move for recusal at the trial level ... does not preclude raising on appeal the issue of recusal under § 455.”); United States v. Schreiber, 599 F.2d 534, 535-36 (3d Cir.1979) (applying plain-error review to recusal claim first raised on appeal); cf. United States v. Walker, 473 F.2d 136, 138 (D.C.Cir.1972). Although I agree that timeliness is a factor to be considered, the obligation section 455(a) places on judges means that even an untimely recusal claim cannot deprive a circuit court of its responsibility to review a judge’s failure to recuse. In my view, the integrity and public reputation of the federal judiciary require clear and firm answers on the merits to even delayed charges of judicial impropriety.