Posted by casey at September 22nd, 2005

Let’s say are a judge in a case. Four days before you decide the verdict the defendant secretly approaches you with an offer of a promotion to your dream job. Doesn’t this qualify as “impartiality might reasonably be questioned?”

Read on to find out that this is exactly what happened in the Hamdan case involving a suspected terrorist Hamdan and the President. The President questioned Judge Roberts about a Supreme Court nomination four days before the verdict was decided. Under normal circumstances an ethical judge would recuse himself. In this case though, Robert’s did the opposite, he stayed on and sided in favor of the President. Impartiality reasonably questioned? … You be the judge.