Eastwood v. Beckham et al
Filing
7
ORDER Regarding Judicial Disqualification. Signed by Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara on 12/2/2013. (kg)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
MARY EASTWOOD,
Plaintiff,
v.
RONALD BECKHAM, et al.,
Defendants.
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Case No. 13-2575-EFM
ORDER REGARDING JUDICIAL DISQUALIFICATION
Pursuant to Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, the parties and
their attorneys of record are hereby informed of the potential disqualification of the
undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge, James P. O’Hara, from further acting in this case. Canon
3C(1) provides that a “judge shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the
judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Defendants Roanld Beckham are
represented by K. Paul Day of Lathrop & Gage, L.C., a law firm which employs Judge
O’Hara’s daughter, Kate O’Hara Gasper, as an associate. In accordance with the law firm’s
internal conflict-of-interest screening procedures, Kate O’Hara Gasper is not working on this
case.
The applicable ethical standards make clear that the above-described circumstances,
standing alone, do not constitute a situation in which a judge’s impartiality could be
reasonably questioned, and therefore judicial disqualification under Canon 3 is not required.
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See Advisory Opinion No. 58 (rev. July 10, 1998), Committee on Codes of Conduct, U.S.
Judicial Conference. However, those standards also recognize that other circumstances could
arise which, in combination with the relative’s status as an associate in a law firm involved
in a case, might reasonably raise a question about the judge’s impartiality and in turn warrant
disqualification.
Judge O’Hara represents that is unaware of any disqualifying
circumstances. But he acknowledges that one of the parties or lawyers involved in this case
might have knowledge of such circumstances.
In an abundance of caution, and to ensure that all parties and counsel involved in this
case are notified of circumstances that could be perceived as giving the appearance of
impropriety, the court has issued this order. The parties and their counsel are hereby
informed of this potential disqualification and ordered to comply with the directives set out
in the contemporaneously issued Notice Concerning Waiver of Judicial Disqualification.
Dated December 2, 2013, at Kansas City, Kansas.
s/ James P. O’Hara
James P. O’Hara
U.S. Magistrate Judge
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