When Chief Justice Chase Rogers recused herself from the landmark same-sex marriage case Kerrigan v. Department of Public Health in 2007, she did so to avoid a conflict of interest.
That was the right thing to do. After all, her husband’s law firm, Robinson & Cole, had filed an amicus brief in the case supporting gay marriage. Through Edward O’Hanlan’s position as a partner at the firm, it could have been perceived that Rogers had received an indirect financial benefit from the case. The perception of conflict made her recusal a necessary, obvious remedy.
