Litigation

New Statement Explains Judge?s Exxon Stock Sale

By Peter Hardin

Federal District Judge Martin Feldman of Louisiana says he learned he had Exxon Mobil stock several hours after he heard a case involving the Obama administration’s recent deepwater drilling moratorium, according to an Associated Press article.

Judge Feldman, who blocked the moratorium, stated earlier (see Gavel Grab) he sold those shares less than five hours before making his ruling on Tuesday, June 22.

A statement released by the judge’s chambers has elaborated on the sequence of events, saying he learned of the holdings on Monday, June 21, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Because he remembered that Exxon, who was not a party litigant in the moratorium case, nevertheless had one of the 33 rigs in the Gulf, the judge instructed his broker to sell Exxon and XTO [Energy Inc.] as soon as the market opened the next morning,” the statement said.

Some questions have been raised in news reports and the blogosphere over whether Judge Feldman should have recused himself.

A Washington Post article stated, “The judge may have thought the stock did not create a substantial conflict, legal analysts said, but the fact that he apparently felt compelled to sell the stock and disclose it could be seen as indicating otherwise.” The article quoted Jeffrey M. Shaman, a  law professor at DePaul University, as saying, “The fact he sold his holdings in Exxon does not somehow cleanse what he did in the case.”

Another opinion was expressed by Doug Kendall, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center, in the Wall Street Journal article. Kendall “questioned whether Feldman’s stake in Exxon Mobil would technically disqualify the judge, given the size of the company and the likelihood that its stock wouldn’t be affected by the ruling,” the newspaper reported.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 29, 2010 (boomark / email).