Litigation

Groups Seek Recusal by Judge in Drilling-Ban Case

By Peter Hardin

Environmental groups are asking a federal judge in Louisiana to suspend his order that blocked the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling ban. The groups say Judge Martin Feldman’s financial holdings raise questions about his impartiality, and he should disqualify himself.

“The court’s financial holdings in various companies involved in oil and gas drilling raise in an objective mind a reasonable question concerning the court’s impartiality in these proceedings,” stated a motion by the environmental groups, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

Judge Feldman has said he sold shares of Exxon Mobil stock hours before issuing his recent ruling on the deepwater drilling moratorium (see Gavel Grab). Exxon Mobil was not a party to the litigation but was affected by the court ruling. Here is how the Wall Street Journal summarized ethics law governing judges:

“Under federal law, federal judges are prohibited from deciding cases in which they have financial interests in the parties or the outcome of the case. They are also prohibited from deciding cases in which there is the appearance of a conflict.”

Some legal experts think Judge Feldman would not be required to recuse himself, given the sale of his Exxon Mobil stock before he ruled. “I doubt a recusal motion would survive under those circumstances,” said Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford Law School.

Full post as published by The Gavel on July 05, 2010 (boomark / email).