The difference between reassignment and recusal in Delaware's courts

Administrative Office of the Courts

On Monday, March 30, Chancellor Kathleen McCormick, the highest judge on Delaware’s Court of Chancery, made an uncommon filing. She was originally set to preside over three lawsuits against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, but last week his lawyers accused her of showing bias over a LinkedIn post she allegedly liked.

In her filing this week, she refused to recuse herself, but reassigned the three lawsuits to other on the Chancery bench.

To understand what this means, Delaware Public Media’s Jay Shah spoke with Lawrence Cunningham, Director of the John L. Weinburg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Reassignment vs Recusal Full Interview

Listen to the full interview between Lawrence Cunningham of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance and DPM's Jay Shah

Listen • 21:46

Additional Notes

While the Chancellor's actions are novel, Cunningham said there isn't a concrete way to find if this is the first time as many rulings aren't made public. However, given the high-profile nature of this case and Chancellor McCormick's stance, he said her ruling still holds significance.

You can view the official ruling with Chancellor McCormick's letter below: