(PC) Beeson v. Warden

Filing 29

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 11/22/2024 DENYING 28 Request for Recusal. (Huang, H)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TAYLOR A. BEESON,

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No. 2:23-cv-1621 DJC CKD P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

WARDEN, F.C.I. HERLONG, et. al.,

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Defendants.

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On November 20, 2024, plaintiff filed a document which the court construes, in part, as a

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request that the undersigned recuse.

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I. Legal Standard:

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Federal law allows a judge to recuse from a matter based on a question of partiality:

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Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall
disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might
reasonably be questioned. [¶] He shall also disqualify himself . . .
[¶] [w]here he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or
personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the
proceeding . . . .

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28 U.S.C. § 455(a), (b)(1).
A party may seek recusal of a judge based on bias or prejudice:
Whenever a party to any proceeding in a district court makes and
files a timely and sufficient affidavit that the judge before whom the
matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice either against him

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or in favor of any adverse party, such judge shall proceed no further
therein, but another judge shall be assigned to hear such proceeding.
[¶] The affidavit shall state the facts and the reasons for the belief
that bias or prejudice exists . . . .

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28 U.S.C. § 144.
Relief under Section 144 is conditioned upon the filing of a timely and legally sufficient

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affidavit. A judge who finds the affidavit legally sufficient must proceed no further under Section

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144 and must assign a different judge to hear the matter. See 28 U.S.C. § 144; United States v.

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Sibla, 624 F.2d 864, 867 (9th Cir. 1980). Nevertheless, where the affidavit lacks sufficiency, the

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judge at whom the motion is directed can determine the matter and deny recusal. See United

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States v. Scholl, 166 F.3d 964, 977 (9th Cir. 1999) (citing Toth v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 862

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F.2d 1381, 1388 (9th Cir. 1988) (holding that only after determining the legal sufficiency of a

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Section 144 affidavit is a judge obligated to reassign decision on merits to another judge)); United

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States v. $292,888.04 in U.S. Currency, 54 F.3d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1995) (if the affidavit is

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legally insufficient, then recusal can be denied).

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The standard for legal sufficiency under Sections 144 and 455 is “‘whether a reasonable

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person with knowledge of all the facts would conclude that the judge’s impartiality might

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reasonably be questioned.’” Mayes v. Leipziger, 729 F.2d 605, 607 (9th Cir. 1984) (quoting

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United States v. Nelson, 718 F.2d 315, 321 (9th Cir. 1983)); United States v. Studley, 783 F.2d

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934, 939 (9th Cir. 1986). To provide adequate grounds for recusal, the prejudice must result from

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an extrajudicial source. Sibla, 624 F.2d at 868-89. A judge’s previous adverse ruling alone is not

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sufficient for recusal. Nelson, 718 F.2d at 321.

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II. Analysis

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To the extent plaintiff alleges bias, prejudice, and impartiality based on previous rulings

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against plaintiff, the motion for recusal is substantially insufficient. The motion fails to allege

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facts to support a contention that the undersigned has exhibited bias or prejudice directed towards

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plaintiff from an extrajudicial source. Sibla, 624 F.2d at 868; see Liteky v. United States, 510

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U.S. 540, 555 (1994) (“[J]udicial rulings alone almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or

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partiality motion.”); id. (“In and of themselves . . . [judicial rulings] cannot possibly show
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reliance upon an extrajudicial source; and can only in the rarest circumstances evidence the

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degree of favoritism or antagonism required . . . when no extrajudicial source is involved. Almost

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invariably, they are proper grounds for appeal, not for recusal.”); Leslie v. Grupo ICA, 198 F.3d

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1152, 1160 (9th Cir. 1999) (“[Plaintiff’s] allegations stem entirely from the district judge’s

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adverse rulings. That is not an adequate basis for recusal.”).

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III. Conclusion

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Because plaintiff fails to identify any adequate basis for recusal, and because there is no

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basis to reasonably question the undersigned’s impartiality, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that

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plaintiff’s request for recusal (ECF No. 28) is denied.

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Dated: November 22, 2024
_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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