Gaithersburg, MD asked in Divorce for Maryland

Q: Is there a conflict of interest when a pro se is not informed husband's attorney is married to a judge on the same court

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
Answered
  • Rockville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: Not necessarily. However, any judge assigned to your case has an obligation to recuse themselves if they believe that a conflict, potential conflict, or appearance of conflict is present. In many jurisdictions there are so many judges that a particular judge may feel there is no bias issue if they do not know the parties and are not particularly close to the married judge in question. Finally, connections between lawyers are very common, as the community is small enough that you will have many judges and lawyers who know each other through past employment, bar committee memberships, functions, etc. the fact that a fellow judge is married to a lawyer who appears before them in court is not alone a reason why any judge would feel a bias or a conflict. That argument would then be used to essentially prevent the lawyer from ever being able to represent a client in court in that jurisdiction. You will need more basis than that.

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