When Judges Are Friends With Attorneys And Litigants

Should a judge become Facebook friends with a litigant? The Wisconsin Supreme Court says it creates the appearance of bias. 

The ruling, which now places the case before a different judge, was the latest in a series of examples across the country where a judge’s actions on social media call into question their ability to fairly consider cases before them.

We should all be disturbed when judges form personal relationships with litigants but an even bigger issue is when judges have personal relationships with the attorneys.

In my case, Judge Mearly openly stated he personally know Nelly Wince and vouched for her character even before reading the evidence against her. If that is not clear bias I am not sure what is.