A judge must recuse from all cases involving defendants whom the judge previously prosecuted, according to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.

“The test for the appearance of impropriety is whether the conduct would create in reasonable minds, with knowledge of all the relevant circumstances that a reasonable inquiry would disclose, a perception that the judge’s ability to carry out judicial responsibilities with integrity, impartiality, and competence is impaired,” the ethics panel said in Opinion Number 2024-12, citing commentary to Canon 2A. “This Committee finds that a reasonable mind would perceive that a judge who previously prosecuted the same defendant would not be impartial.”

The committee also said commentary to Canon 3(E)(1) states clearly that, “a judge is disqualified whenever the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, regardless of whether any of the specific rules in Section 3E(1) apply.”