Questione giuridica chiave
Whether the participation of a specialist judge created an appearance of bias requiring recusal
Decisione estratta
Yes. Given the pending civil malpractice dispute between counsel's client and the judge, an objective appearance of bias existed.
Motivazione estratta
Recusal depends on objective circumstances creating an appearance of partiality; actual bias is unnecessary. The prior conflict was sufficient to make the judge's involvement appear non-neutral.