Also known as: disqualified person · disqualify · disqualified · disqualification
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person barred from serving in a particular legal capacity or participating in a matter due to conflicts of interest, bias, or statutory prohibitions. The bar prevents the individual from performing duties when impartiality would reasonably be questioned or when confidential information creates adverse interests.
During a lengthy federal trial, one seated juror falls ill and cannot continue. The court impanels an alternate who was selected and sworn under the same standards as the original panel members. The alternate steps in without objection and the trial proceeds to verdict.
A judge learns that her spouse's law firm represents one of the parties in a pending contract dispute. The judge discloses the connection on the record and steps aside after the parties decline to waive the issue. A different judge is assigned to hear the case.
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A lawyer joins a new firm that represents a company adverse to a former client in a substantially related matter. The affected former client provides informed consent after full disclosure of the risks. The new firm continues the representation under the waiver.
A judge's former campaign treasurer appears as counsel for the defendant in a civil case. The opposing party moves for disqualification. The court grants the motion because the central campaign role creates an appearance of partiality that cannot be cured by screening.
A former state regulator possesses nonpublic enforcement data about a company acquired during her government service. She later seeks to represent a competitor in litigation that would use the data against the company. The former regulator is disqualified from the representation.
A party to a contract action contributed $500 to the presiding judge's retention campaign two years earlier. The contribution represented less than one percent of total funds raised and bore no relation to the pending case. The court denies a disqualification motion after reviewing the amount, timing, and context.
A client may waive the disqualification if the conditions of Rule 1.7 are satisfied, including informed consent confirmed in writing after the lawyer explains the risks and alternatives.
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No. Courts examine the contribution's amount, proportion of total funds, timing, and relationship to the case to decide whether a reasonable person would question the judge's impartiality.
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A judge is automatically disqualified when a campaign manager, treasurer, or similarly central campaign official appears as a party or counsel because the relationship is close enough to raise an appearance of partiality.
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The firm must timely screen the disqualified lawyer from participation and ensure the lawyer receives no share of fees from the matter, with prompt written notice to the affected government agency when applicable.
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