Partial Recusal and the Supreme Court
Michigan State Law Review Forum
3 Pages Posted: 7 Jun 2022 Last revised: 9 Feb 2023
Date Written: May 11, 2022
Abstract
This essay uses the framework of the affirmative action litigation to introduce and preliminarily explore the concept of “partial recusal” at the Court. Part I briefly introduces judicial recusal, including the unique features of recusal at the Supreme Court. Part II addresses the idea of partial recusal, which has been generally undertheorized and effectively overlooked with respect to the justices’ recusal practices. It then distinguishes between two types of partial recusal—horizontal and vertical—and makes a case for why each could be useful for the Court.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation