Mom Not Entitled to Have Trial Judge Removed from Case
Tennessee child custody case summary on recusal in divorce and family law.
Mom failed to show grounds to have trial judge recused.
Michelle Miller v. Carlos Durand
The father was named the primary residential parent in 2023 in this Carter County, Tennessee, case. The mother had previously made a motion to recuse the judge, Chancellor Suzanne S. Cook, but that motion had been denied and neither party appealed.
In 2024, the father made a motion for an injunction to enjoin the mother from removing the child from the state, and in particular taking the child to any international destination. He also requested an injunction against the mother involving the child in any litigation in Costa Rica. There were apparently accusations in Costa Rica against the father for child abuse. A temporary injunction was granted, and the mother was notified of her right to a hearing.
The mother requested a hearing, which was held, but continued to a later date. Ten days later, she once again made a motion to recuse the trial judge. The motion to recuse was denied, and the mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
After citing the relevant standard of review, the appeals court noted that the mother’s argument focused on prior rulings that the trial court had made. It noted, however, that the correctness of those rulings had been resolved by mediation. Therefore, the only order to be reviewed was the ruling on the motion to recuse.
The court reviewed the proceedings to that point, and concluded that there were no grounds to question the trial judge’s impartiality. A hearing had been scheduled, although it was after one of the proceedings in Costa Rica. The trial judge had offered to conduct an earlier hearing, but in another county, but the mother had declined this offer. After reviewing the evidence, the Court of Appeals concluded that the trial judge had properly declined to recuse herself.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court and remanded the case.
No. E2024-00889-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 26, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?
To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
