Law Schools

Man Who Sued Law School Because He Didn't Want To Take LSAT Asks Judge To Recuse Because Obama Appointed Him

We bet you never thought you'd see a 'birther' argument raised in a federal recusal motion.

By  
on

No one wants to be forced to take the LSAT to get into law school, and if you recall, one guy made a literal federal case about it.

Back in August, a certain plaintiff filed suit in the District of Delaware against Duke Law School (and a slew of other parties including Harvard University, the Law School Admissions Council, the Association of American Law Schools, the California Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos) after he applied to the school without taking the LSAT, one of the school’s admissions requirements. The plaintiff’s application was thus withdrawn, which prompted him to file a complaint creative work of art that he dedicated to former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt, where he argued that the LSAT was little more than “junk science,” a test administered by those who “ignore our law, our history, our culture, ethics and probably all of western civilization law.”

Needless to say, the complaint was quickly dismissed by Judge Richard Andrews for failure to state a federal claim, who noted that granting plaintiff leave to amend the suit would be “futile” since there was “no basis to believe that [he could] amend his lawsuit to state a federal claim.” Normally, that would be the end of this pro se romp in the playground of legal filings, but this is no normal case.

Instead of accepting defeat, the plaintiff took the extra step of filing a motion for Judge Andrews to recuse from the case because “[t]he country is a republic, and not subjected to … ‘Obama Judges.'” Yes, Judge Andrews is an “Obama Judge,” and he was confirmed to the bench in 2011. Here’s what the plaintff has to say about this particular “Obama Judge” in his pointless recusal motion:

[Plaintiff] hereby now reasonably questions sadi Judges’ impartiality, as respectfully wishes him to recuse him from the case due to the long term, ongoing “birther controversy on the public record concerning Barack Obama […]

We bet you never thought you’d see a “birther” argument raised as a reason for a federal judge to recuse, but these are strange times we’re living in. Thanks, Trump.

It is our sincere hope that no additional litigants decide to reduce themselves to using the same absurd, divisive rhetoric as the president when filing recusal motions, because if that were to happen, it would be, to quote Trump… SAD!

Sponsored

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Duke by law school applicant who didn’t take LSAT [Duke Chronicle]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , ,