TITLE 28 - JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART I - ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
CHAPTER 21 - GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO COURTS AND JUDGES
-HEAD-
Sec. 455. Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate
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(a) Any justice, judge, or magistrate of the United States shall
disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality
might reasonably be questioned.
(b) He shall also disqualify himself in the following
circumstances:
(1) Where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a
party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts
concerning the proceeding;
(2) Where in private practice he served as lawyer in the matter
in controversy, or a lawyer with whom he previously practiced law
served during such association as a lawyer concerning the matter,
or the judge or such lawyer has been a material witness
concerning it;
(3) Where he has served in governmental employment and in such
capacity participated as counsel, adviser or material witness
concerning the proceeding or expressed an opinion concerning the
merits of the particular case in controversy;
(4) He knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his
spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial
interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to
the proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially
affected by the outcome of the proceeding;
(5) He or his spouse, or a person within the third degree of
relationship to either of them, or the spouse of such a person:
(i) Is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director, or
trustee of a party;
(ii) Is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding;
(iii) Is known by the judge to have an interest that could be
substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding;
(iv) Is to the judge's knowledge likely to be a material
witness in the proceeding.
(c) A judge should inform himself about his personal and
fiduciary financial interests, and make a reasonable effort to
inform himself about the personal financial interests of his spouse
and minor children residing in his household.
(d) For the purposes of this section the following words or
phrases shall have the meaning indicated:
(1) ''proceeding'' includes pretrial, trial, appellate review,
or other stages of litigation;
(2) the degree of relationship is calculated according to the
civil law system;
(3) ''fiduciary'' includes such relationships as executor,
administrator, trustee, and guardian;
(4) ''financial interest'' means ownership of a legal or
equitable interest, however small, or a relationship as director,
adviser, or other active participant in the affairs of a party,M.
except that:
(i) Ownership in a mutual or common investment fund that
holds securities is not a ''financial interest'' in such
securities unless the judge participates in the management of
the fund;
(ii) An office in an educational, religious, charitable,
fraternal, or civic organization is not a ''financial
interest'' in securities held by the organization;
(iii) The proprietary interest of a policyholder in a mutual
insurance company, of a depositor in a mutual savings
association, or a similar proprietary interest, is a
''financial interest'' in the organization only if the outcome
of the proceeding could substantially affect the value of the
interest;
(iv) Ownership of government securities is a ''financial
interest'' in the issuer only if the outcome of the proceeding
could substantially affect the value of the securities.
(e) No justice, judge, or magistrate shall accept from the
parties to the proceeding a waiver of any ground for
disqualification enumerated in subsection (b). Where the ground for
disqualification arises only under subsection (a), waiver may be
accepted provided it is preceded by a full disclosure on the record
of the basis for disqualification.
(f) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, if
any justice, judge, magistrate, or bankruptcy judge to whom a
matter has been assigned would be disqualified, after substantial
judicial time has been devoted to the matter, because of the
appearance or discovery, after the matter was assigned to him or
her, that he or she individually or as a fiduciary, or his or her
spouse or minor child residing in his or her household, has a
financial interest in a party (other than an interest that could be
substantially affected by the outcome), disqualification is not
required if the justice, judge, magistrate, bankruptcy judge,
spouse or minor child, as the case may be, divests himself or
herself of the interest that provides the grounds for the
disqualification. |
