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Do Supreme Court judges usually recuse themselves from cases relating to the president who nominated them?

Thursday, October 29, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
NO

Supreme Court justices have not typically recused themselves from cases simply because they involve the president who appointed them. The due process clause of the Constitution requires judges to sit out a case when there is a clear conflict of interest, specifically when financial interests are involved or when there is strong potential bias.

Justice Elena Kagan, who had been involved in a range of matters as President Obama's Solicitor General before her 2010 appointment, sat out 28 of 78 cases during her first year on the court. In 1974, in United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court decided unanimously against President Nixon. Nixon had appointed Chief Justice Warren Burger and Justices Harry Blackmun, Lewis Powell Jr. and William Rehnquist. Of the four, only Rehnquist removed himself from the case on the grounds that he had previously held a role in the Nixon administration.

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