recusal

American  

[ri-kyooz-uhl] / rɪˈkjuz əl /

noun

1. the act of recusing; withdrawal or disqualification from a role or process.

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Explanation

In law, recusal is the act of a judge being disqualified (or disqualifying herself) because of a conflict of interest. A recusal, for example, would replace a judge if the defendant in a case was a relative. An attorney might ask for recusal if she overhears the judge saying something like, "Well it's obvious he's guilty — just look at those clothes he's wearing!" Before a case is decided, both judge and jury have to be completely unbiased and impartial for the result to be just. Recusal protects against a judge's bias. The word comes from recuse, "reject or challenge as disqualified to act."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recusal

"Nor am I suggesting that a court has determined that she is legally disqualified. The point is much narrower: an avoidable question now hangs over this investigation, and voluntary recusal would remove it."

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Also, a recusal without an explanation for why the recusal is happening really gives us nothing at all.

From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026

The clerk’s announcement didn’t specify the grounds for Justice Alito’s recusal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The recusal is real on paper and largely empty in practice.

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

Issy Maisels rose dramatically and applied for the recusal of Judges Ludorf and Rumpff on the grounds that both had conflicts of interest that prevented them from being fair arbiters of our case.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela