About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

23 N.Y.U. L. Q. Rev. 109 (1948)
Disqualification for Bias of Judicial and Administrative Officers

handle is hein.journals/nylr23 and id is 115 raw text is: DISQUALIFICATION FOR BIAS OF JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS JOSEPH M. GODMAN THE doctrine that no man shall be judge in his own cause is firmly embedded in Anglo-American jurisprudential thought. It is considered as axiomatic by commentators on the law,' jurists,2 and even laymen3 Though its roots lie in antiquity,4 it is as firmly adhered to today as ever. This principle has formed one corner- stone of a free people's concept of justice and its breach has been considered a violation of due process of law.' Though, of course, the primary consideration has been to in- sure a litigant a fair trial before a coldly impartial judge,' this doc- trine has been supported on the ground that to allow a biased judge to preside over a case would injure public confidence in our judi- ciary7 and irreparably damage its reputation.8 It has also been said that strong public policy is involved.' Joseph M. Godman is a member of the New York Bar and a former editor- in-chief of the New York University LAW QuARTERLY RE%,Ew. 11 CoxE, LrrTLET ON, 141a, § 212; Sedgewick, Disqualification on the Ground of Bias as Applied to Administrative Tribunals, 23 C.n. BAR RE%. 453 (1945). See 15 R. C. L., Judges, § 16. See also the quotation from the Report of the Lord Chancellor's Committee on Minister's Powers (1932), in McFARxnxD ,am V,&MWDmIT, CAsEs AD MATERALS oN AD smTRATnE LAW, 648-650 (1947). 2In Stahl v. Bd. of Supervisors, 187 Iowa 1342, 175 N.W. 772 (1920), Salinger, J. said: It would be sheer affectation to make an extensive citation of authorities for the proposition that one may not 'be judge in his own cause.' Sc In re Conant, 102 Mle. 477, 67 At. 564 (1907); State v. Gonzales, 43 N. A. 49S, 95 P. 2d 673 (1939); Moers v. Gilbert, 175 Misc. 733, 25 N.Y. S. 2d 114, aff'd 26 App. Div. 957, 27 N.Y.S. 2d 425 (1941), for similar statements. 3Andrew Carnegie is quoted as saying: The judge who presides over a ase in which he is interested dies in infamy if discovered. The citizen who constitutes himself a judge in his own cause as against his fellow-citizen ... is a lawbreaker and as such is disgraced. N. Y. Times, July 24, 1946, page 26. 4See Sedgewick, op. cit. supra note 1 at 460 to the effect that this principle is found deeply rooted in all systems of jurisprudence. 5Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U. S. 510 (1927); Drainage District v. Smith, 233 Ill. 417, 84 N.E. 376 (1908); Payne v. Lee, 222 Minn. 269, 24 N. W. 2d 259 (1946); see 1 Vom BAvR, FEDERAL MmnLsTRAT E LAw § 309 (1942); cf. St. Joseph St9ck- yards Co. v. U. S., 298 U. S. 38, 73 (1936) (concurring opinion). 6Every litigant is entitled to nothing more than the cold neutrality of an impartial judge ... . State v. Bordelon, 141 La. 611, 75 So. 429 (1917); almost the exact language is used in Palmer v. Atkinson, 116 Fla. 366, 156 So. 726, 729 (1934). Accord: Hall v. Thayer, 105 Mass. 219 (1870). See also Wilson v. State, 222 Ind. 63, 51 N.E. 2d 848 (1943). The great Chief Justice Marshall said: ... (A judge) should observe the utmost fairness. . . The Judicial Department comes home in its effects to every man's fireside: it passes on his property, his reputation, his life, his all. Quoted in Evans v. Gore, 253 U. S. 245, 250 (1920). 7Mobile v. Grayson, 220 Ala. 349, 125 So. 221 (1929); U'Ren v. Bagley, 118 Ore. 77, 245 Pac. 1074 (1926); Cotulla State Bank v. Herron, 202 S.W. 797 (Tex. Civ. App. 1918). 8Cotulla State Bank v. Herron, 202 S.W. 797 (Tex. Civ. App. 1918). 9Meyer v. San Diego, 121 Cal. 102, 53 Pac. 434 (1898); Howell v. Budd, 9 Imaged with the Permission of N.Y.U. Law Review

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most