Mom not entitled to have trial judge removed from case

Tennessee child custody case summary on recusal in divorce and family law.

Mom failed to show grounds to have trial judge recused.

Michelle Miller v. Carlos Durand

The father was named the primary residential parent in 2023 in this Carter County, Tennessee, case. The mother had made a previous motion to recuse Chancellor Suzanne S. Cook. That motion was denied and neither party appealed. He also asked for an injunction to prevent the mother from involving the child in any litigation that takes place in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, the father was accused of child abuse. The mother was informed of her right to an hearing and a temporary injunction had been granted. Ten days later she again filed a motion for the trial judge to be recused. The motion to recuse was denied, and the mother appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

After citing the relevant standard of review, the appeals court noted that the mother’s argument focused on prior rulings that the trial court had made. The court noted that the correctness or otherwise of these rulings was resolved through mediation.

Therefore, the only order to be reviewed was the ruling on the motion to recuse.

The court reviewed the proceedings to that point, and concluded that there were no grounds to question the trial judge’s impartiality. A hearing had been scheduled, although it was after one of the proceedings in Costa Rica. The mother declined the offer of a hearing earlier in another county. The trial judge offered to do so, but she refused. After reviewing the evidence, it was determined that the trial court had acted correctly in refusing to recuse itself.