Sixth Circuit addresses standard for judicial recusal in employment case

In Ragozzine v. Youngstown State University, the plaintiff filed a gender discrimination claim after he was denied tenure.  The trial judge found ample evidence to support the decision to deny tenure and granted the university summary disposition.  The Plaintiff then learned that the judge was dating a tenured professor employed by the defendant and sought her recusal.  The judge denied the recusal motion and the plaintiff appealed both decisions.

On appeal the Sixth Circuit judges affirmed the lower court.  It concluded that the professor whom the judge was dating played no role in the denial of tenure, and therefore, "no reasonable person would have questioned the judge's partiality."