State v. Milner, 155 A.3d 730

Background

Defendant Mack Milner was charged after disruptive and allegedly threatening conduct at Saint Francis Hospital; convictions included criminal trespass, interfering with an officer, and disorderly conduct.
Judge Kwak presided; during an off-the-record chambers conference the judge disclosed he formerly served as the hospital’s director of risk management.
Defense counsel made an oral motion to disqualify the judge the next day, arguing the judge’s prior hospital employment created an appearance of bias because the hospital was the victim of the trespass charge.
The judge denied the oral motion on the record, stating he no longer worked for the hospital, did not recognize the witnesses’ names, and had reviewed the applicable judicial conduct rule.
The defendant was convicted and sentenced; he appealed, arguing the judge abused his discretion by refusing to recuse himself for appearance of bias.
The Supreme Court considered whether the record was adequate despite the defendant’s failure to follow Practice Book § 1-23 (written motion, affidavit), and whether disqualification was required under Code of Judicial Conduct rule 2.11.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Reviewability of oral, procedurally noncompliant recusal motion	State: noncompliance with Practice Book § 1-23 may bar review	Milner: oral motion preserved claim and record contains disclosed facts	Court: reviewable here — record contained undisputed facts (judge’s own disclosure) and the motion was timely placed on record
Standard applied by trial judge	State: judge applied correct rule 2.11 standard	Milner: judge applied subjective bias test rather than objective "appearance" standard	Court: judge reviewed rule 2.11 and record shows he applied the objective appearance standard; no abuse of discretion
Whether judge’s former employment created appearance of bias because hospital was victim	State: prior employment alone did not create reasonable appearance of partiality	Milner: prior role with hospital and ability to sentence on trespass created appearance of bias	Court: former employment, coupled with judge’s statements that he no longer worked for the hospital and did not know witnesses, did not produce a reasonable appearance of partiality
Whether judge’s former role likely gave him personal knowledge of disputed facts	State: title alone does not establish relevant personal knowledge; no facts in record about role scope or timing	Milner: director of risk management likely involved in safety policies and thus had relevant knowledge	Court: defendant failed to place facts on record about the nature or timing of employment; title alone insufficient to show personal knowledge

Key Cases Cited

State v. Santangelo, 205 Conn. 578 (court reviewed recusal despite procedural defects because claim implicated right to fair trial)
Papa v. New Haven Federation of Teachers, 186 Conn. 725 (oral recusal motion reviewable where judge’s conduct demonstrated personal interest)
State v. Rizzo, 303 Conn. 71 (explains objective reasonableness standard under Code of Judicial Conduct rule 2.11)
State v. D’Antonio, 274 Conn. 658 (court may review recusal claims sua sponte; procedural noncompliance not automatically dispositive)
State v. Messier, 16 Conn. App. 455 (review of oral recusal motion warranted given seriousness of alleged bias and impact on fair trial)
State v. Weber, 6 Conn. App. 407 (failure to produce factual record left appellate court unable to review an oral recusal motion)