Is a judge disqualified to hear a tort action against the trustees of a testamentary trust asserting conversion of funds that should have been used for charitable purposes because: 1. One of the defendants/trustees is a daughter-in-law of the judge’s former court reporter? Answer: Unless the judge has a personal bias or prejudice or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts as a result, the facts presented do not cause disqualification of the judge.

DISQUALIFICATION WHEN A RELATIVE OF A COURT REPORTER IS A PARTY; IN A SUIT INVOLVING A TRUST WHEN THE JUDGE IS A MEMBER OF A PAST BENEFICIARY’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND A FORMER MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF ANOTHER PAST BENEFICIARY; DUE TO RULINGS IN A PREVIOUS SUIT INVOLVING THE SAME TRUST; AND/OR DUE TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNSEL