Q: When a former law partner of the judge tries a case in front of them, isn't this fraudulent?
A: The question is not one of fraud, but of ethics and bias, or the appearance of bias, which would require the judge to recuse themselves. Such decisions are left to the judge, but a party may raise the issue by motion, asking the judge to recuse themselves. The party doing so has to weigh the risk of the judge denying the motion and potentially influencing the judge against them by raising the issue (they are not supposed to do that, but judges are human). Merely because a judge and a lawyer appearing before them had a prior business relationship does not automatically raise an ethical issue or result in bias. Judges are expected to --and do-- put aside any past relationships with counsel appearing before them, and treat each case on its merits with no favoritism. It is left to their own determination whether thy can or cannot do so in a particular case. If you believe you have observed specific instances in your case where you detect bias or the appearance of bias, then you might consider whether to make a motion to recuse. However, if your only basis is that at one point in the past --especially if it has been years ago-- the judge and lawyer were once in the same law firm, then that is probably not a very strong basis to seek recusal.
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