In Re Medtronic, Inc. Sprint Fidelis Leads Products Liability Litigation

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD H. KYLE, District Judge.

In deciding the sensitive question of whether to recuse ..., the test of impartiality is what a reasonable person, knowing and understanding all the facts and circumstances, would believe. It is for that reason that we cannot adopt a per se rule holding that when someone claims to see smoke, we must find that there is fire. That which is seen is sometimes merely a smokescreen. Judicial inquiry may not therefore be defined by what appears in the press. If such were the case, those litigants fortunate enough to have easy access to the…