Burke v. Carrion

*921The appellant contends that the Supreme Court should have recused itself based on certain comments it made during a prior unrelated trial in which the appellant was a named defendant. Absent a legal disqualification under Judiciary Law § 14, a court is the sole arbiter of the need for recusal, and its decision is a matter of discretion and personal conscience (see Irizarry v State of New York, 56 AD3d 613, 614 [2008]). Here, contrary to the appellant’s contention, the comments cited do not demonstrate that the Supreme Court was biased and, thus, its refusal to recuse itself was not an…