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With echoes of the failed witch hunt of Judge Vaughn Walker following California's Prop 8 trial, anti-gay Republicans in Illinois have gotten the ball rolling early and demanded that Judge Sophia Hall recuse herself from hearing the challenge to the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Details follow.
A coalition of the Who's Who of Hate Groups, including Peter LaBarbera, Scott Lively and Rena Lindevaldsen, has formed to ask the openly gay Judge Hall to step down from the hearing.
Two of the demands (according to ThinkProgress) include:
LINDEVALDSEN: If the tables were turned and she was a charter member of an organization that had as its mission to overturn Roe v. Wade and she was presiding over a case where the validity of Roe was in question, there would be incredible outcry to have her removed from the case. Given the significance of the case before her, Judge Hall should take steps to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest, and recuse herself.
LIVELY: Judicial recusal to prevent the appearance of bias is an essential component of our legal system. Its authority depends on public confidence in its impartiality. Can anyone reasonably expect an open lesbian and member of a “gay rights” advocacy group to be impartial on the issue of “gay marriage”? If this judge has any respect at all for our judicial system, she must recuse herself.
In June of 2011, a federal judge ruled against homophobes with torches in California who had attempted to have openly gay Judge Vaughn Walker's Prop 8 decision tossed out because of his sexuality.
“The fact that a federal judge shares a fundamental characteristic with a litigant, or shares membership in a large association such as a religion, has been categorically rejected by federal courts as a sole basis for requiring a judge to recuse her or himself,” wrote Chief US District Judge James Ware.
So, good luck with attempting to set dangerous legal precedent in Illinois, haters.
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