The federal judge referred to in the headline for this DBR article (which is going to be published Monday) is William Zloch:
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney Loring Spolter is accusing U.S. District Judge William Zloch of bias in two employment discrimination cases, citing his deep religious beliefs, and wants the judge removed from the cases.
In a 110-page motion for recusal filed last month, Spolter cited Zloch's hiring of several law clerks from Ave Maria Law School, a donation to the Roman Catholic school and his attendance at several junkets for judges sponsored by conservative organizations.
I've had trials and a number of contested hearings in front of the former Chief Judge and have always found him to be fair and impartial. Definitely a no-nonsense judge, which is good. I think he lets both sides try their case. No complaints here...
To cite where a judge hires law clerks is just ridiculous. This motion will go nowhere.
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
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ReplyDeleteI pray you are correct. But, praytell, what if you are wrong?
ReplyDeleteThere is redemption for those who err.
On a serious note, we have a religious lunatic as a division chief in the SAO handing our weird pleas and doing weird stuff. In private, people in the SAO tell me he is crazy and keeps people in jail because for suspicious reasons. However the SAO won't do anything about it.
I agree with Markus that simply where a Judge hires his law clerks is not a serious basis for showing his bias or seeking his recusal. But this does raise a more interesting question: What in the world is Judge Zloch doing hiring multiple people from this crazy "law" school?! It's (at best) a 12th-tier school, if indeed there are that many tiers. It's overtly -- and by that I mean self-styled -- an ideological rather than scholarly place. And anybody who Googles it will see the craziness that is going on there, from the administration & faculty on down. I can see a federal Judge hiring a law clerk from a non-top-tier school, if the candidate's file is TRULY spectacular -- top of his/her class, glowing recommendations from professors. In fact, I went to a non-elite law school, and a federal judge took a chance on me, an opportunity for which I'm forever grateful. But let's be real -- SD Fla clerkships are pretty highly coveted by top law students at top schools all over the country (C'mon, a year living on South Beach dealing with cool, high-profile criminal cases?)....so it's hard to imagine that Zloch took MULTIPLE candidates from this institution (pun intended) without intending to make some sort of political/ideological/religious statement by doing so. Certainly not a basis for recusal, but troubling nevertheless....
ReplyDelete901 could only be referring to herb walker
ReplyDeleteThis motion is a waste of paper and the Court's time. It is clearly an unmerited attack on Judge Zloch and his law clerks. In my experience in Judge Zloch's courtroom, he has been nothing but fair to both sides.
ReplyDeleteWhy shouldn't a client in a discrimination case be concerned when it so apparently appears that the Judge bases many decisions on the religion of the institutions, and people that come from them, which he chooses to hire?
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody really believe (if what is alleged is true) that the nature of the institution he hires his clerks from plays no part in the decision?