Milwaukee archdiocesan lawyers rap bid to remove judge in bankruptcy case

September 05, 2013

Lawyers for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have strong countered a bid by creditors to seek the removal of a federal judge involved in the archdiocesan bankruptcy case.

Creditors of the archdiocese, led by representatives of sex-abuse victims, have protested a ruling by Judge Rudolph Randa that allowed the archdiocese to set up a separate trust fund for the care of cemeteries. The creditors’ lawyers argued that Judge Randa should have removed himself from the case because he has relatives buried in archdiocesan cemeteries.

In their response, the archdiocesan lawyers said that the creditors’ argument was “a thinly disguised attempt to shop for a new district court judge” who would be more favorably disposed to their claims. The notion that a judge should be disqualified because his relatives are buried in Catholic cemeteries would, if pressed, “impermissibly impose a religious test on this judge,” the lawyers argued.

 

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Further information:

• Milwaukee Archdiocese lawyers dispute conflict claim leveled at judge (Journal-Sentinel)
• In Milwaukee archdiocese bankruptcy case, creditors charge judge biased by parents' burial in Catholic cemetery (CWN, 8/14)