Washington, DC, Oct. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear James Dondero v. Stacey G. Jernigan. NCLA asks the Justices to take the case and rule that federal appellate courts should not use a deferential “abuse-of-discretion” standard of review when they consider bankruptcy judges’ recusal decisions on appeal. Instead, the reviewing courts should assess such decisions de novo—without any deference whatsoever.
The case arises from Texas bankruptcy judge Stacey Jernigan’s decision to deny James Dondero’s motion seeking her recusal from a pending bankruptcy proceeding. Mr. Dondero challenged Judge Jernigan’s impartiality based on three novels the judge authored that feature a fictional heroine and fictional villain who bear striking similarities to Judge Jernigan herself and Mr. Dondero, respectively. After Judge Jernigan denied his motion, Mr. Dondero appealed to federal district court and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Both courts affirmed Judge Jernigan’s decision using a highly deferential review standard that asked only whether she had abused her discretion in declining to recuse.
Unlike federal district and appeals court judges, bankruptcy judges are neither appointed by the President nor Senate confirmed. They do not have life tenure, and their salaries can be reduced while in office. They therefore lack the core protections that safeguard independence, impartiality, and the due process of law in our Article III courts. So, when Article III courts review bankruptcy court decisions on questions of law, the constitutional separation of powers and due process of law demand that they undertake independent, de novo judicial review rather than deferential review.
Demanding independent judicial decisions from Article III courts, without deferring, is nothing new for NCLA. Last year in Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce, NCLA persuaded the Supreme Court to end Chevron deference to executive branch agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The logic that doomed Chevron also demands an end to the deferential review standard at issue in Dondero v. Jernigan.
NCLA released the following statements:
“Article III courts should not defer to non-Article III adjudicators on questions of law. Whether those adjudicators are Article I bankruptcy courts or Article II executive agencies, litigants deserve de novo judicial review and the independent judgment of Article III courts in determining what the law is.”
— Russ Ryan, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“Bankruptcy judges do not enjoy the judicial independence of Article III judges. So, when bankruptcy judges refuse to recuse, Article III judges must review those decisions anew, not under an abuse of discretion standard. Otherwise, Article III courts will uphold decisions not to recuse even when impartiality is fairly suspect, as here.”
— Mark Chenoweth, President, NCLA
For more information visit the amicus page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal
