Last month, the House Courts Subcommittee and the Task Force on Judicial Impeachment addressed two pressing issues: (1) the rules of disqualification post-Caperton and (2) the impeachment of Judge Porteous. Helpfully, both hearings are captured on video, feature the appearances of a few of the true experts on these subjects, and include links to their written testimony. The point of this post is neutral reportage, but to editorialize just a bit: Some interesting testimony lurks in these links (take, for example, that of Professor Eugene Volokh [UCLA] whose mostly entertaining written testimony on the state of disqualification law somewhat shockingly recommends no particular action and doubts the existence of serious problems, at least of the type that could be remedied through disqualification law).
(1) Hearing on Examining the State of Judicial Recusals after Caperton v. A.T. Massey
(a) To watch the hearing, click here (which may require RealPlayer);
(b) To view the written testimony, click on the name of the respective witness:
| M. Margaret McKeown U.S. Courts of Appeals Ninth Circuit |
| Charles G. Geyh Associate Dean of Research John F. Kimberling Professor of Law Indiana University, Maurer School of Law |
| Richard E. Flamm Author of Judicial Disqualification: Recusal and Disqualification of Judges; Conflicts of Interest and Law Firm Disqualification |
| Eugene Volokh Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law University of California |
| Norman L. Reimer Executive Director National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers |
| Arthur D. Hellman Professor of Law University of Pittsburgh |
(2) Hearing to Consider Possible Impeachment of United States District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., Part IV
(a) To watch the hearing, click here (which may require RealPlayer);
(b) To view the written testimony, click on the name of the respective witness:
| Akhil R. Amar Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science Yale Law School |
| Charles G. Geyh Associate Dean for Research and the John F. Kimberling Professor of Law Indiana University Maurer School of Law |
| Michael J. Gerhardt Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor in Constitutional Law & Director, Center for Law and Government University of North Carolina School of Law |
The Judicial Ethics Forum (JEF) 