Black v. Van Steenwyk

This case highlights the issue of whether a trial judge should disqualify from hearing a matter when the trial judge is in an ongoing business relationship with one of the attorneys appearing before him. Here, that business relationship was one of landlord/tenant as shown by a real estate tax record attached to the Blacks’ reply to Van Steenwyk’s response to the motion to disqualify. I believe the trial judge should have disclosed his business relationship with opposing counsel, and, because the landlord relationship with counsel apparently existed, he should have disqualified. Moreover, I…