In Unprecedented Move, All Maine’s Federal Judges Recuse from GOP Rep’s Challenge to Democrat Speaker’s Vote-Stripping Censure Order – UPDATE

Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson contributed to this report.

UPDATE: The Maine Wire has learned the likely explanation for the recusal of Maine’s federal judges is a familial conflict with an employee of the court. Specifically, a parent of the male high school athlete featured in the image Rep. Laurel Libby was censured for posting to Facebook works for the court.

In an unprecedented move that’s turning heads in the legal community, every single federal judge in the District of Maine has recused themselves from a first-of-its-kind lawsuit pitting a House Republican against the Democratic House Speaker who stripped the GOP member of her right to vote and speak in the House chamber.

All six of Maine’s federal judges have recused themselves from a lawsuit filed by Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) and several of her constituents on Tuesday against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford), according to court documents filed Wednesday.

According to an order filed by Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, the recusal of all federal judges in the district will result in the case being referred to the District of Rhode Island.

No reason has been given for the recusal.

However, Walker’s order confirmed that the unanimous recusal of the federal judges created an “emergency” under 28 U.S.C. § 636(f).

In the context of that statute, Walker “assign a United States magistrate judge from one judicial district to serve in another judicial district for a period of time not to exceed 180 days, unless extended by the Judicial Conference of the United States.”

Although the statute sets a time limit for this unprecedented move of 180 days, there’s no indication that the broad recusal will expedite the resolution of the case.

In addition to Walker, Judges John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann, and Nancy Torresen all signed the recusal order on Tuesday, but did not give any reason for the decision.

Libby has already been denied the right to vote on substantial legislation. Specifically, she was refused the right to vote Tuesday night on a roughly $120 million Mainecare bailout package that Fecteau and other Democratic lawmakers are trying to muscle through the legislature.

In the lawsuit, Libby and her co-plaintiffs accuse Fecteau of violating her constitutional rights by crafting and bringing to a party-line vote a censure that deprived her right to speak in the Legislature as well as of her ability to vote on behalf of her constituents in the Maine House of Representatives.

[RELATED: Rep. Libby Files Federal Lawsuit Against Speaker Fecteau for Violating Her Constitutional Rights…]

“This many recusals are quite unusual, but because none of the judges have specified the reason they are refusing, I am unable to provide any insight or comment on it,” said Rep. Libby’s lawyer Patrick Strawbridge in a comment provided to the Portland newspaper.

The current Rhode Island district court has five federal judges: the chief judge was appointed by former President Barack Obama, one was appointed by President Donald Trump, one by President Joe Biden, one by former President Bill Clinton, and one by former President George W. Bush.

It is unclear which judge will preside over the case.

The Maine Wire reached out to Libby for comment on the Maine judges recusing themselves, but she did not immediately respond.

Her lawsuit came after Democrats voted to censure her for a post on Facebook that criticized Maine’s policy of forcing female athletes to compete against male athletes—a post that included a picture of a male athlete finishing in fifth place competing against other males but later finishing in first place competing against females.

Libby posted the picture to criticize the unfair policies that allow males to compete in women’s sports, even after President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening to pull federal education funding from states that continue to allow this practice.

The photo served as indisputable evidence that Maine was in violation of Title IX of federal civil rights laws, which prohibits states from forcing females to compete against males in interscholastic athletics.

Left-wing media outlets and politicians criticized Libby, claiming that she was targeting and exploiting a child for political gain.

At the same time, national newspapers, including the Boston Globe and the Wall Street Journal, have editorialized in Libby’s favor, casting the case as a clear example of an infringement on Libby’s right to free speech.

[Full disclosure: Patrick Strawbridge has also represented the Maine Wire in legal matters.]