Is the Stock Ownership Recusal Requirement Too Unforgiving?

Howard J. Bashman examines the law precluding a federal judge from presiding over any case in which he owns a share of stock in a corporation that is a party to the case. Given the frequency with which judges are unintentionally violating this requirement and stock ownership's failure to give rise to bias, or its appearance, in the many cases in which a judge's ownership interest in a company is immaterially small, Bashman concludes that Congress should consider eliminating the automatic recusal rule.

Related: Bashman Archive

Under federal law, federal judges are precluded from presiding over any case in which the judge owns even one share of stock in a corporation that is a party to the case.

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Is the Stock Ownership Recusal Requirement Too Unforgiving?

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