Carney v. Carney

54 Misc. 3d 947, 42 N.Y.S.3d 552
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Carney v. Carney. Read the opinion of the Court — 54 Misc. 3d 411
New York Supreme Court·Decided November 10, 2016·Published

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Richard A. Dollinger, J.

In this application, the Public Defender, appointed as a special counsel to the applicant to advocate for the appointment of publicly-funded counsel in a family custody dispute, seeks recusal from this court and an order in limine to allow hearsay testimony during a hearing on applicant’s claim.

In a prior opinion, this court held that it had the power to review an applicant’s claim that they are eligible for appointed counsel under the County Law or any other New York statute providing for the appointment of counsel. (Carney v Carney, 54 Misc 3d 411 [Sup Ct, Monroe County 2016].) The court further held that it had the power, under state law, to impute income to the applicant because the statute’s use of the phrase “unable to obtain” counsel is interpreted to mean that the applicant was “incapable” of retaining counsel. Because this applicant, by virtue of his admitted training, skill, and talents, has the capability to earn higher income, the court held that he has the burden of proof—he must show that he is incapable of earning an amount in excess of the income-based criteria for appointment of counsel.

In the prior opinion, this court commented on its previous experience with the applicant. The court concluded that based on the applicant’s conduct and testimony in previous proceedings, there was a “shadow of skepticism” over previous representations made by this applicant. The court noted that the applicant has previously misled the court. The court had previously incarcerated the applicant for violations of court orders and substantially restricted his access to his children because of his behavior. Based on these observations, articulated by the court in its earlier opinion, the Public Defender now seeks recusal from this court, arguing that without it, the fairness or the appearance of fairness of the underlying proceeding will be forfeited.1

The court notes that nowhere does the Public Defender or the applicant contest the accuracy of the court’s comments or [949]*949conclusions regarding the applicant’s prior behavior in the proceedings. The Public Defender does not dispute that the applicant’s representations in prior sworn statements were misleading or untruthful, or that his behavior in violating explicit court orders warranted incarceration. In seeking recu-sal, the Public Defender simply suggests that the court’s observations, drawn from prior proceedings, have compromised the court’s sense of fairness.

The Public Defender does not cite to any specific portion of the judicial statutes that require recusal. Judiciary Law § 14 requires recusal if this court is “interested” in the proceeding.2 This court has no “interest”—as that word is defined in the Judiciary Law—that precludes it from hearing this case. The Public Defender points to the Rules of Judicial Conduct, which require recusal if the court’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned in instances in which “the judge has a personal bias . . . concerning a party . . . or . . . has personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts.” (22 NYCRR 100.3 [E] [1] [a] [i].) This court has no personal bias against the applicant. A review of the history of this case demonstrates that this court gave this father repeated opportunities to have parenting time with his children. The court sought to accommodate (often over his ex-wife’s objections) the father’s time with his children. The court gradually increased penalties and reduced the father’s parenting time in response to his conduct. The applicant father does not contest these facts or the court’s prior conclusions.

Absent a legal disqualification under Judiciary Law § 14, a trial judge is the sole arbiter of recusal. (People v Moreno, 70 NY2d 403, 405 [1987].) For any alleged bias and prejudice to be disqualifying it “must stem from an extrajudicial source and result in an opinion on the merits on some basis other than what the judge learned from his participation in the case” (id. at 407; 22 NYCRR 100.3 [E] [1] [a]). In short, to provide a basis for recusal, the court rules require that the bias or prejudice must be based upon something other than the rulings made or the facts developed in this case.

[950]*950New York and federal court decisions affirm that only extrajudicial facts justify a judge’s recusal. In People v Glynn (21 NY3d 614, 618 [2013]), a judge, after reading a presentence investigation report, commented in court on the fact that the defendant had never held a job, had smoked marijuana for 32 years, had an extensive criminal history, fathered numerous children, and would end up owing more than a million dollars in child support. The defendant characterized these comments as “ ‘inappropriate’ comments about his character” (id. at 619). The Court of Appeals held that the failure of the judge to recuse himself was not an abuse of discretion: “We have held that for any alleged bias and prejudice to be disqualifying it ‘must stem from an extrajudicial source and result in an opinion on the merits on some basis other than what the judge learned from his participation in the case.’ ” (Id. at 618, citing United States v Grinnell Corp., 384 US 563, 583 [1966].) In other New York examples, a court declined to recuse itself just because the court’s prior decisions fed a litigant’s fear that the case was in danger of dismissal from the court. The court in Brady v 450 W. 31st St. Owners Corp. (2014 NY Slip Op 31879[U] [Sup Ct, NY County 2014]) applied the rule from People v Glynn and held that its earlier decisions against the litigant were not influenced by any “extrajudicial” bias. The mere fact that the court disapproved of the litigant’s position was an insufficient justification for the recusal motion and “smacks of judge shopping.” (Id. at *9.) Other trial courts have taken the same stance. In People v Nathan (29 Misc 3d 1209[A], 2010 NY Slip Op 51760[U] [Mt. Vernon City Ct 2010]), the court held it was not disqualified by virtue of making remarks construed as adverse to a particular party prior to the conclusion of a trial, citing United States v Grinnell Corp. In Hurrell-Harring v State of New York (20 Misc 3d 1108[A], 2008 NY Slip Op 51276[U], *2-3 [Sup Ct, Albany County 2008]), the trial judge, echoing the sentiments of the Court of Appeals and his trial court colleagues, added:

“Neither the formation of an opinion on a question of law nor judicial rulings in a litigation constitute grounds for a claim of bias or prejudice on the part of a judge. The phrase ‘personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts’ as set forth in the Court Rules refers to knowledge extrajudicially obtained rather than knowledge obtained in my official capacity during the course of the proceeding.” (See also D.I. v S.I., NYLJ, Sept. 23, 2008, at 25, col. 3, [951]*951240 NYLJ 59, 2008 NY Misc LEXIS 6033 [Sup Ct, Westchester County 2008] [recusal denied when a litigant, denied permission to relocate with a child, challenged the court’s conclusion and sought recu-sal because to do so would allow the litigant to judge-shop]; but see Matter of Johnson v Hornblass, 93 AD2d 732 [1st Dept 1983] [judge disqualified because he visited a litigant in prison and was a possible witness to events and therefore the appearance of justice would be better served by recu-sal].)

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Carney v. Carney, 54 Misc. 3d 947, 42 N.Y.S.3d 552 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2016).

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