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Sometimes you’ve just reached your limit with a particular person/situation. And rather than dig in deeper, it’s time to just walk away. (At least that’s what I understand a healthy emotional response to be, while my reality often involves a lot more yelling.) Anyway, it looks like district court judge Otis Wright of the Central District of California has that particular life skill on lockdown.
As reported by Law360, Judge Wright recused himself from a case with an “OK. We’re done. Seriously, we are done.” Which is like the most relatable a federal judge has ever been.
So, what actually happened? In a criminal case, Callie G. Steele of the Federal Public Defenders Office requested a mistrial arguing that the jury could see her client in ankle shackles, which is contrary to Ninth Circuit precedent. While noting the catch-22 of trying to suss out what the jury saw, Judge Wright indicated he’d grant the mistrial:
“The only way to find out would be — we would have to interview each and every one of them. ‘Did you see shackles? Did you see shackles?’” the judge said. “And by doing that, we’re going to alert everyone for certain that she’s in custody, and that defeats the purpose. So I’m going to grant your motion. And this is going to be a big inconvenience to an awful lot of people. The government had people, you know, coming from out of town, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, but so be it.”
Damaris Diaz, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, wanted to consider potential alternatives short of a mistrial. As the judge and Diaz were discussing this, Steele stood and asked to be heard.
And that’s when that final straw, it broke the camel’s back:
“Did I not give you what you asked for?” the judge asked Steele, before telling her to sit down.
“Your Honor, I would like to address the government’s proposal,” Steele said.
“And I’m going to recuse myself,” the judge said. “OK. We’re done. Seriously, we are done. I am no longer able to dispassionately play this game anymore, because this is like fun and games, and I do believe that intentional misrepresentations are being made to the court. I’m going to recuse myself. I’m declaring a mistrial. It will go back on the calendar, go back on the wheel for reassignment. We are done.”
With that, Judge Wright’s OUT, y’all.
Judge Fernando M. Olguin got the reassigned case. And don’t you wish getting yourself off that case you hate was this easy?
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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