Reddick v. School District Number 1

Filing 6

ORDER of Recusal by Judge William J. Martinez on 1/7/2014. (ervsl, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge William J. Martínez
Civil Case No. 14-cv-0003-WJM
SONJA REDDICK
Plaintiff,
v.
SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 1, in the City and County of Denver, a/k/a DENVER
PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
Defendant.

ORDER OF RECUSAL

This matter is before Court sua sponte.
Section 455(a) of Title 28 of the United States Code states that “Any justice,
judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any
proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” A trial judge must
recuse himself when there is an appearance of bias, regardless of whether there is
actual bias. Nichols v. Alley, 71 F.3d 347, 350 (10th Cir. 1995). The test is whether a
reasonable person, knowing all the relevant facts, would harbor doubts about the
judge’s impartiality. Hinman v. Rogers, 831 F.2d 937, 939 (10th Cir. 1987).
Plaintiff in this case is represented by my former law firm, from which I departed
in February 2011. On these facts, I find that a reasonable person would have an
objective basis upon which to harbor doubts about my impartiality. As a result, recusal
is required by 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), and I hereby recuse myself from this case.

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the Judge’s file be returned to the
Clerk’s office in order for this case to be reassigned by random draw.
Dated this 7th day of January, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

__________________________
William J. Martínez
United States District Judge

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