Johnson v. King County

United States District Court, Western District of Washington · June 20, 2025 · No. 2:25-cv-01109-JHC

Summary

This order addresses a plaintiff's emergency motion to disqualify Judge John H. Chun based on allegations of bias and pending litigation against him. Applying the standards under 28 U.S.C. §§ 144 and 455, the court finds that the plaintiff failed to provide evidence of extrajudicial bias or circumstances that would reasonably question the judge's impartiality. Consequently, the court affirms the denial of the recusal motion.

Court
United States District Court, Western District of Washington
Writing for the Court
John H. Chun
Jurisdiction
United States District Court, Western District of Washington
Decision date
June 20, 2025
Docket number
2:25-cv-01109-JHC
Procedural posture
Order affirming denial of Plaintiff's emergency motion to disqualify Judge Chun
Precedential value
non-precedential
Parties
Ingrid Johnson v. King County et al.
Disposition
affirmed

Topics

civil procedure

Practice areas

civil procedure

Questions Presented

  1. Whether Judge John H. Chun should recuse from the case under 28 U.S.C. §§ 144 and 455.

Holdings

  1. The court held that Plaintiff failed to show any extrajudicial source of bias; therefore Judge Chun's denial of the recusal motion is affirmed.

Key quotations

Plaintiff has presented no arguments or evidence that could reasonably call Judge Chun’s impartiality into question.

Factual background

Plaintiff alleged that Judge Chun should recuse because he had not ruled on her emergency motions and because she had active litigation against him, but presented no evidence of bias derived from an extrajudicial source.

Procedural history

The district court previously affirmed Judge Chun's decision not to recuse (Dkt. No. 16). Plaintiff filed an emergency motion to disqualify the judge, which the court denied. The order is reviewed under Local Civil Rule 3(f).

Court Document

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