Question

You are a defense attorney who sees a judge in your jurisdiction having dinner with a prosecutor. both are married to other people. you happened to have a case in front of this judge and the prosecutor is your opponent. you consider that you could request the judge to recuse himself from the case, but this may create animosity, and if he refuses, it could be detrimental to your client. alternatively, you could keep quiet and use the information on appeal, but this may mean your client spends years in prison. finally, you could do nothing and hope that the judge is not biased toward the prosecution in his ruling. what would you do?

Answer 1

In a court of law, bias is not supposed to be present. If they were both married, yet having dinner, they could be friends or the prosecutor is trying to get on the good side of the judge (or they're cheating). If you feel that the judge might not make impartial or fair rulings then it may be best to try to request him to recuse. However, it would do good to have evidence of such belief and not off of suspicion. The main goal of your case is to try to get your client as little time, or no time, in prison, so doing something that may cause prosecution is not favorable. It may also be helpful to look at past cases, or ask people who have worked with the judge before, to see if he has ever seemed prejudiced on any cases. Try to make a choice based on what you believe and feel will have the best outcome. Remember that this case can determine your clients future.