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Informing Judicial Recusal Decisions: Party Disclosure of Financial Interests Information - Report to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States

Carol L. Krafka, Marie Leary, Joe S. Cecil, Naomi Medvin
January 1, 1999

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1 provides for disclosure of financial information from corporate parties in the courts of appeals. The purpose of the rule is to assist appellate judges in identifying if they have financial conflicts of interest for recusal purposes. There is no corresponding national rule governing civil, criminal, and bankruptcy proceedings in the district and bankruptcy courts. The Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States is evaluating whether a national rule requiring financial interests disclosure in district and bankruptcy courts is necessary, and if so, how the rule should be structured. To inform its work, the Committee asked the Federal Judicial Center to study the practices and variations in methods used in appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts where financial information from parties is currently being filed. The study includes the courts of appeals, because many of them have local rules on disclosure that supplement the requirements set forth in FRAP 26.1.