Opinion
DA 21-0641
03-08-2022
ROBERT L. ALLUM, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. STATE OF MONTANA, Defendant and Appellee.
ORDER
Representing himself, Robert L. Allum moves this Court to recuse for cause: Justice McKinnon, Justice Rice, Justice Baker, Justice Shea, Justice Sandefur, and Justice Gustafson. Through counsel, the State of Montana has filed a response in opposition.
Allum contends that the Justices of this Court "have a history of denying Allum's constitutional rights to due process, and exceed their constitutional authority, on multiple occasions[.]" He provides the list of his prior proceedings with this Court and their outcomes, concluding that he "cannot [] receive a fair and impartial hearing, before the Justices." Allum requests that the Justices recuse themselves.
The State responds that Allum's motion fails to set forth any legal justification for the recusal or disqualification of these Justices. The State points out that the only commonality in this Court's prior decisions is due to these six Justices' ''history of ruling against [Allum]." The State posits that Allum's relief is untenable and has no basis in statute, case law, or rule. The State concludes that Allum's motion should be denied because Allum has provided no legal grounds for recusal.
Allum's motion is not well-taken. We conclude that the State correctly points to the lack of any legal reason for recusal for cause. Allum seeks a different outcome in his instant proceeding, based upon his prior history with this Court and its decisions. "A judge shall hear and decide matters assigned to the judge, except when disqualification is required by Rule 2.12 or other law." Reichert v. State. 2012 MT 111. ¶ 49, 365 Mont. 92, 278 P.3d 455 (quoting Mont. Code of Jud. Cond. 2.7). Allum's motion is without merit. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that Allum's "Motion to Recuse Justices Laurie McKinnoi‰ James A. Rice, Beth Baker, Jim Shea, [Dirk] Sandefur. and Ingrid Gustafson, for Cause[, ]" is DENIED.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to Robert L. Allum personally.