Abuse of Discretion – Failure to Recuse

By: Derek Hawkins//November 26, 2019//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. James Atwood

Case No.: 18-2113

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and KANNE and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Failure to Recuse

Judge Colin S. Bruce sentenced James Atwood to 210 months’ imprisonment for federal drug crimes. While Atwood’s case was pending, Judge Bruce improperly communicated ex parte with the prosecuting U.S. Attorney’s Office about other cases. The federal recusal statute requires a judge to recuse himself from any proceeding in which his impartiality may reasonably be questioned. The government concedes that the disclosure of Judge Bruce’s ex parte correspondence invited doubt about his impartiality in proceedings involving the Office. Because of the judge’s broad discretion in sentencing, we conclude that Judge Bruce’s failure to recuse himself was not harmless error. We vacate Atwood’s sentence and remand his case for resentencing by a different judge.

Vacated and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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