• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Obama-Appointed Judge Presided Over Record 138 Cases in Which He Had Financial Conflicts

Obama-Appointed Judge Presided Over Record 138 Cases in Which He Had Financial Conflicts

September 30, 2021
Chip Roy Enters Crowded Race To Replace Ken Paxton As Texas’ Top Prosecutor

Chip Roy Enters Crowded Race To Replace Ken Paxton As Texas’ Top Prosecutor

August 21, 2025
Cracker Barrel Debuts New Logo — Sparks Reactions

Cracker Barrel Debuts New Logo — Sparks Reactions

August 21, 2025
CHUCK DEVORE: Newsom: Green For Some, Not For All

CHUCK DEVORE: Newsom: Green For Some, Not For All

August 21, 2025
DAVE BOSSIE: Trump’s Foreign Policy Is A Game Changer For The World

DAVE BOSSIE: Trump’s Foreign Policy Is A Game Changer For The World

August 21, 2025
Peruvian Man Accused Of Killing Wife Tried To Blame ICE For Her Disappearance

Peruvian Man Accused Of Killing Wife Tried To Blame ICE For Her Disappearance

August 20, 2025
DeSantis Sends Florida’s ‘Chuck Norris’ To Retrieve Illegal Immigrant Trucker From California

DeSantis Sends Florida’s ‘Chuck Norris’ To Retrieve Illegal Immigrant Trucker From California

August 20, 2025
Texas House Approves Redistricting Maps

Texas House Approves Redistricting Maps

August 20, 2025
North Korea Built Secret Missile Base On Chinese Border Capable Of Striking US

North Korea Built Secret Missile Base On Chinese Border Capable Of Striking US

August 20, 2025
DAVID BLACKMON: Trump Brings Hard Times For The Climate Alarm Movement

DAVID BLACKMON: Trump Brings Hard Times For The Climate Alarm Movement

August 20, 2025
David Axelrod Claims Dems Uphold ‘Norms’ — But Reality Tells Different Story

David Axelrod Claims Dems Uphold ‘Norms’ — But Reality Tells Different Story

August 20, 2025
Karen Bass Just Got Sued By Fire Chief She Canned Over LA Wildfire Response

Karen Bass Just Got Sued By Fire Chief She Canned Over LA Wildfire Response

August 20, 2025
California Dems Call Redistricting ‘Transparent’—But Refuse To Say Who Drew The Map

California Dems Call Redistricting ‘Transparent’—But Refuse To Say Who Drew The Map

August 20, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Thursday, August 21, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Obama-Appointed Judge Presided Over Record 138 Cases in Which He Had Financial Conflicts

by Western Journal
September 30, 2021 at 6:51 am
in News
242 10
0
Obama-Appointed Judge Presided Over Record 138 Cases in Which He Had Financial Conflicts
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A federal district court judge in Texas who was appointed by former President Barack Obama has repeatedly violated ethics standards, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Judge Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall, Texas, in the Eastern District of Texas, failed to disqualify himself in 138 cases over eight years in which he or a family member had a financial interest in a company involved in the case before him, according to the Journal.

The Journal recently published the results of an investigation into judicial flouting of a 1974 federal law that bans judges from ruling in cases where they or a family member have an interest, even when assets are held in a trust.

Although Gilstrap is one of 131 judges the Journal said broke the rules, his 138 cases make up about 20 percent of the 685 cases between 2010 and 2018 in which the Journal found the law was violated.

Gilstrap told the Journal via email he did nothing wrong, but would not be interviewed.

Some corporate giants were in the judge’s docket and in his portfolio, the Journal found, including Microsoft Corp., in which he made 53 rulings;  Walmart, with 36 cases and Target Corp. with 25 cases. The Journal noted that he ruled in favor of Disney in a patent-infringement case, despite having between $100,001 and $250,000 of Disney stock held by either him or his wife.

The Journal noted that in patent infringement cases, judges have a lot of power.

“The more important questions in any given patent case are the small discretionary, often procedural questions that the judge resolves before trial,” Paul Gugliuzza, a law professor at Temple University, said.

The Journal said that 85 percent of the cases Gilstrap heard that were in conflict with the law were in the area of patent litigation.

Gilstrap said he sees no conflict in ruling in cases involving corporations with stocks held in a trust created for his wife and her descendants.

The Journal found some who said that’s wrong.

“The judge must recuse if the trust for the spouse has even one share of stock in a party,” said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who the Journal said wrote a judicial ethics casebook, and reviewed the filings. “It does not matter that the spouse or child have no say in the investment choices.”

Ben Johnson, a law professor at Pennsylvania State University, agreed.

“He would have to recuse,” Johnson said.

The Journal said Gilstrap shared with it a ruling from the federal judiciary’s ethics committee that said his past conduct was not, after all, following the rules.

The opinion said the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges “requires recusal when a judge has a financial conflict, regardless of the substance of the judge’s actual involvement in the case,” and “encompasses a situation where the Clerk’s Office assigns you a case, even where you do not act.”

Gilstrap promised to change some of his ways.

“In hindsight and considering the attached opinion from the Committee, I now understand that, despite my lack of any involvement or action, such cases result in a need for me to recuse,” he said.

However, the Journal noted that unlike many judges who, after the Journal’s investigation, issued notices to those in cases before them they needed to recuse themselves due to a disqualifying interest, Gilstrap had not done so.

The Journal said that based on data provided to it by Lex Machina, a legal analytics provider, 83 percent of the 6,929 patent cases Gilstrap faced were settled before trial, which is above the 69 percent average.

In trials, he has found defendants infringed upon patents in 34 cases and did not do so in 35 cases. That’s a different ratio from the nation as a whole, in which infringement was found in 277 cases and not in 204 cases, the Journal reported.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Tags: CourtObama AdministrationTexasU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Western Journal

Western Journal

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th