Glover v. Trelstad
- Nancy Brasel
- 0:22-cv-01302
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 6
In Glover v. Trelstad, Magistrate Judge Wright denied Wilbert Glover’s motion seeking her recusal, finding no shown bias or personal knowledge of disputed facts.
Wilbert Glover’s request to have Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright recuse herself was denied; the opinion does not state any further disposition of the underlying claims.
What happened
In Glover v. Trelstad, Wilbert Glover sued over alleged unconstitutional and illegal conditions, including racial harassment, at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. Glover was representing himself.
Glover asked Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright to step aside, asserting that she was biased against him and had personal knowledge of disputed facts. He appeared concerned that the judge’s involvement in other related cases created a conflict.
Magistrate Judge Wright denied the recusal motion. She ruled that Glover had not identified facts showing bias or personal knowledge of facts underlying his allegations, and that rulings in this or related cases generally do not justify recusal.
The detailed version
- Glover v. Trelstad · No. 0:22-cv-01302
- Nancy Brasel
- June 21, 2024
Background
Wilbert Glover filed this case in May 2022. His amended complaint alleges that he experienced unconstitutional and illegal conditions, including racial harassment, while at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. The case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel and U.S. Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson, and later reassigned from Judge Thorson to Judge Wright after Judge Thorson retired. Glover was proceeding without a lawyer.
The case had been stayed while a prior related proceeding involving Glover was resolved. After that proceeding ended, Judge Brasel lifted the stay. The court later ordered Glover to explain why the case should not be dismissed based on issue preclusion or claim preclusion. The Ramsey County defendants filed an answer, and the court ordered the parties to meet and confer and submit a joint report under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f).
Motion for Recusal
Glover filed a document titled “Disqualification of Justice Magistrate Judge: Elizabeth Cowan Wright Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455(a)(b)(1)(5.3).” The court construed it as a motion asking Judge Wright to recuse herself, meaning to step aside because of possible bias or another disqualifying circumstance.
Glover’s stated basis was that Judge Wright had personal bias and prejudice against him and personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning this and other proceedings. The court understood Glover to be concerned that Judge Wright’s assignment to other cases brought by him, including related cases, showed bias or gave her personal knowledge of disputed facts.
Court’s Analysis
Section 455 requires a federal judge to step aside when the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. It also requires recusal when the judge has personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts.
The court explained that recusal generally cannot be based on the judge’s rulings in the current or related cases, a tendency to rule a particular way, or a judicial attitude developed through experience on the bench. A party seeking recusal carries a substantial burden because judges are presumed to be impartial.
Judge Wright concluded that Glover had not identified facts requiring recusal. The court found that Glover had not shown bias and that it did not have personal knowledge of facts underlying the allegations in his amended complaint.
Disposition
The court DENIED Glover’s motion seeking recusal of Judge Wright.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.