Ex-Husband Didn’t Show Judge Was Biased for Recusal

Tennessee case summary on judicial recusal.

Lori Kay Jones Trigg v. Richard Darrell Trigg

The former husband in this protracted Tennessee divorce case made a motion in 2015 to delay implementation of the divorce judgment on the grounds that his former wife had not been competent to sign the marital dissolution agreement.  He alleged that the wife’s uncle, an attorney, had used undue influence to get her to file for divorce, and that the uncle used his political and legal connections to deprive the husband of full and fair justice.  When the Hawkins County trial judge, R. Jerry Beck,  kept ruling against him, the husband filed a complaint against Judge Beck with the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.  Again, the uncle was accused of using undue influence.  This complaint was ultimately dismissed.

The next time the husband was in court, he made a motion to recuse Judge Beck.  This motion was denied.  The judge noted that he didn’t know the uncle, other than the occasions when the uncle happened to appear in his court.  He also noted that the complaint had been dismissed.  The motion was also denied on procedural grounds, since it was not accompanied by the required sworn affidavit.

Undaunted, the husband filed an appeal with the Tennessee Court of Appeals, arguing that Judge Beck should have recused himself.

The appeals court noted that normally such appeals are decided not on the full record, but on the portion of the record presented by the person filing the appeal.  In some cases, the appeals court might order the other parties to answer or file additional parts of the record.  But because of the expedited nature of the appeal, this is not always necessary.  In addition, an oral argument is not normally required.

The Court of Appeals carefully reviewed the petition in this case, and determined that it was not necessary for the other parties to answer or file briefs.  While all litigants are entitled to a trial before an impartial judge, the husband in this case did not demonstrate any improper bias.  The mere fact that a judge makes adverse rulings is not enough to show bias.  The husband in this case did not make the required showing.  In addition, the appeals court agreed that the husband had not included the proper affidavit with his motion.

For this reason, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling, and assessed the costs of appeal against the husband.

No. E2016-00695-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2016).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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