Can a common pleas judge serve as a judge for trial on two unrelated cases at the same time?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Can a common pleas judge serve as a judge for trial on two unrelated cases at the same time?

Would it be a conflict of interest for a judge to preside over 2 unrelated cases at the same time?

Asked on April 19, 2011 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

A conflict of interest is when a judge has some personal tie to a case (including to witnesses, attorneys, or parties in the case); or has an economic stake in the outcome (e.g. owns stock in a company on trial); or has worked on the case previously (such as an attorney) and so cannot be neutral on the matter; etc. Working on "two unrelated cases" would not seem to provide any conflict--as you write, the cases are "unrelated."

You may wish to re-submit your question with additional detail, if there is some other factor at work here which concerns you about the judge's impartiality or ability to fairly preside over one or both cases.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption