Judge Must State Reasons for Denying Motion to Recuse

Rules are rules.

Tennessee case summary on judicial recusal.

Donald Eugene Winder, III v. Kara Elizabeth Winder

The husband in this Meigs County, Tennessee, case filed for divorce in 2019.  The next day, the parties filed a marital dissolution agreement and permanent parenting plan.  However, three months later, the wife filed a notice to withdraw the agreement and parenting plan.  This was followed by an affidavit setting forth her reasons.  She alleged that her husband, an attorney, had deceived her into signing.  She also noted that the husband appeared frequently before the judge assigned to the case, Judge Casey Mark Stokes.  She alleged that she had seen her husband and the judge socializing outside the courtroom, and asked for the judge to be recused.

The trial court denied the motion to recuse, without any factual or legal explanation.  The wife then filed an appeal with the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court quickly pointed out that the motion denying the recusal motion did not comply with the relevant rule, since it did not state the grounds for denial.  At an oral hearing, the judge had stated that he didn’t see any reason for recusal, but that this ruling might change in the future.  Again, the appeals court pointed out that this was insufficient for failing to state the reasons.

The lower court had entered other rulings after the denial of the recusal motion, and the appeals court agreed with her that those orders had to be vacated.  Since the recusal motion was still pending, the trial court should have deferred action on these matters.  Even though the motion was not technically pending, the failure to make the required findings meant that the subsequent orders were not proper.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals vacated the lower court’s ruling and remanded the case.

No. E2019-016361-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Sept. 25, 2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.