Dem. Urges Scalia To Recuse Himself
The Associated Press
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000; 6:07 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON –– A former Clinton White House counsel suggested Sunday that conservative Justice Antonin Scalia may want to recuse himself from the Florida recount case because his son works for a firm that represents George W. Bush.
Eugene Scalia is a partner in the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Ted Olson, also a partner there, will represent Bush for a second time in oral arguments on Monday, when the Supreme Court considers whether to allow hand counting of ballots in Florida to resume.
"Under that circumstance, Justice Scalia at the very least should disclose the relationship, the presence of his son in Ted Olson's law firm, and explain why recusal, at least for appearances' sake, isn't desirable," said Lanny Davis, former special counsel to President Clinton.
Eugene Scalia said Sunday he is not working on the Bush case.
Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the court would have no comment on the matter. Scalia did not recuse himself the first time Olson argued this case, so it seemed unlikely he would do so this time.
On Saturday, Scalia joined in the 5-4 majority in temporarily halting hand counting of ballots in Florida, as ordered by the Florida Supreme Court. And he issued his own opinion explaining in stronger terms why he believes Bush is likely to win his case after it is heard Monday.
In September, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, whose lawyer son is helping defend Microsoft against private antitrust lawsuits, participated in a key Supreme Court vote in a Microsoft antitrust case. He explained in writing that he had reviewed the law and concluded there was no conflict of interest.
Federal law says judges should disqualify themselves from cases in which their child is known to have "an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding."
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