On Thursday, August 21, 2025, Colorado Politics reported that federal judges in Colorado’s U.S. District Court issued at least 203 recusal orders between July 2021 and July 2025, citing reasons such as potential conflicts of interest, prior employment, and personal relationships.

The data, gathered from a review of court dockets, reflects decisions by district judges, senior district judges, and magistrate judges, with most current judges having assumed their roles in 2021 or later due to significant turnover.

The federal judiciary requires courts to implement automated screening for financial conflicts, and federal law mandates recusal when a judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned or in specific cases, such as prior involvement in a case as an attorney, personal bias, or involvement of close relatives. Over 93% of the recusals cited the appearance of impartiality as the primary reason.

Former Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty, who retired in January 2025, accounted for nearly 22% of the recusals, with 44 cases tied to his son’s law firm, Hall & Evans, representing a party.

Magistrate Judge Susan Prose, who joined the court in May 2023, had the second-highest number of recusals, all related to her prior work as a government attorney defending federal defendants, including against incarcerated plaintiffs. She noted in a December 2023 order that her prior litigation experience created a conflict in a case involving a self-represented defendant.

Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell cited her past role as a high-ranking official under Attorney General Phil Weiser in 21 recusals, pointing to her connections with state government defendants or their counsel.

Magistrate Judges James M. Candelaria and N. Reid Neureiter also provided specific reasons for their recusals. Candelaria, based in Durango, stepped aside from eight criminal cases due to his prior role as a prosecutor in related proceedings. Neureiter, with 11 recusals, cited reasons including his son’s employment at Amazon in a case involving the company and his photography work for East High School in a case involving Denver Public Schools. He also noted personal friendships with attorneys, stating that rulings could create awkwardness in social settings or raise questions about fairness.

Judge Nina Y. Wang recused herself 15 times, including cases from her time as a magistrate judge before her 2022 district judge appointment, often citing personal relationships with counsel or the appearance of impartiality.

Some recusals were linked to financial conflicts, such as Senior Judge Lewis T. Babcock stepping aside from a case involving Comcast due to his stock ownership, and Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson issuing four recusal orders in January 2022 for cases involving Wells Fargo, where he or his wife held stock.

Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney recused herself from cases without detailed explanations, including two involving Colorado’s anti-LGBTQ-discrimination laws, such as 303 Creative v. Elenis and Chiles v. Salazar. She also stepped aside from a criminal case tied to a prior civil case she ruled on and an employment discrimination lawsuit she had litigated as an attorney.

In rare instances, the entire Colorado bench recused itself from two civil lawsuits naming a court member as a defendant, requiring reassignment to an out-of-state judge. Three district judges—Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer, Nina Y. Wang, and Regina M. Rodriguez—recused themselves from a First Amendment lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District, citing social ties or unspecified reasons.

Unusual recusals included Senior Judge William J. Martínez stepping aside due to professional conduct complaints and Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix recusing herself from a case where the plaintiff faced state charges for threatening her.

Magistrate Judge Richard T. Gurley recused himself from the case of convicted Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, citing only the appearance of impartiality, though he was a Mesa County trial judge during her prosecution for a voting equipment security breach.

 

 

Source: Colorado Politics