Steven Brown v. Department of Children Services

Filing 318

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS MOTION TO RECUSE JUDGE OLGUIN AND JUDGE DEAN D. PREGERSON 310 by Judge Dean D. Pregerson (lc)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Steven Dwayne Brown,

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Presently before the court is Plaintiff Steven Dwayne Brown (“Plaintiffs”)’s

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Plaintiff,

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v.
Department of Children Services, et al.,
Defendants.

Case No. 14-cv-05560 FMO (JEMx)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO RECUSE JUDGE
OLGUIN AND JUDGE DEAN D.
PREGERSON
[Dkt. 310]

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Motion to Recuse Judge Olguin. (Dkt. 310.) Plaintiff seeks to recuse Judge Olguin and

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this court under 28 U.S.C. § 144(a). Having reviewed Plaintiff’s submission, the court

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DENIES the motion and adopts the following order.

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Plaintiff asserts that Judge Olguin has “deep seated antagonism” toward Plaintiff,

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as evidenced by Judge Olguin’s “sua sponte” order which denied defendants’ motions

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for summary judgment without prejudice and permitted renewed motions for summary

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judgment. (Mot. at 2-5 (referencing Dkt. 189, Order Accepting Findings and

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Recommendations.) Plaintiff also seeks to disqualify this court based on an alleged
“pattern of ruling in favor of Judge Olguin.” (Mot. at 6.) “The test for personal bias or
prejudice in [28 U.S.C. §] 144 is identical to that in section 455(b)(1) . . . .” United States v.
Sibla, 624 F.2d 864, 867 (9th Cir. 1980). “Consequently, a motion properly brought
pursuant to section 144 will raise a question concerning recusal under section 455(b)(1) as

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well as section 144.” Id. Under Section 455, a judge “shall disqualify himself in any

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proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned” and in

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proceedings in which “he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal

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knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a),

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(b)(1).

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The test under § 455(a) is whether a reasonable person with
knowledge of all the facts would conclude that the judge’s
impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Typically, a
judge’s partiality must be shown to be based on information
from extrajudicial sources, although sometimes, albeit rarely,
predispositions developed during the course of a trial will
suffice. In the instance where the partiality develops during
the course of the proceedings, it can be the basis of recusal
only when the judge displays a deep-seated and unequivocal
antagonism that would render fair judgment impossible.

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F.J. Hanshaw Enters., Inc. v. Emerald River Dev., Inc., 244 F.3d 1128, 1144-45 (9th Cir. 2001)

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(internal quotations and citations omitted). “[J]udicial rulings alone almost never

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constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality motion.” Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S.

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540, 555 (1994). This is true because judicial rulings “cannot possibly show reliance upon

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an extrajudicial source; and can only in the rarest circumstances evidence the degree of

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favoritism or antagonism required . . . .” Id.

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Here, Plaintiff has not established that Judge Olguin’s impartiality could

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reasonably be called into question. Judge Olguin’s order denying defendants’ summary

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judgment motions without prejudice was within the court’s discretion and nothing in

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that ruling evidences the required degree of favoritism or antagonism for recusal.

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Plaintiff’s disagreement with the order and Plaintiff’s speculations that Judge Olguin

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“despises” Plaintiff are simply insufficient. (See Mot. at 5.) Similarly, Plaintiff fails to

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demonstrate that this court’s denials of the motions to recuse have been based on

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extrajudicial sources or predisposition. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion to Recuse Judge

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Olguin and this court is DENIED.

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Dated: October 20, 2020

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___________________________________

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DEAN D. PREGERSON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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