Judge Carl J. Nichols, a corporate lawyer and federal judge, was revealed to have had bond holdings in both Apple and Microsoft when he dismissed their child trafficking and forced labor lawsuit. Now he is arguing that his decision should not be thrown out over the claims that he had something lose or gain in these cases.
Federal Judge Claims His Decision Should Stand in Apple and Microsoft Lawsuits – Had Bonds in Both Companies When He Dismissed the Cases
Nichols was appointed to the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia by President Trump in 2019. He was given the case targeting Apple and Microsoft as 2019 came to a close. In 2020, Judge Nichols scooped up some bonds in the companies—seven times with Apple and five with Microsoft. The value of the bonds is between $60,000 and $200,000, according to Forbes.
Judge Nichols wasn’t the only judge who did some dirty dipping. A Wall Street Journal article from September 2021 noted that 131 federal judges didn’t remove themselves 685 lawsuits where they had an interest in the outcome. This was a trend from 2010 to 2018 when the tech lawsuits were really in full swing.
The federal judge would say that his actions didn’t violate Section 455—a federal law where judges must recuse themselves if they can’t be impartial in the case. One reason included is financial or economic gain. His reasoning is that his holdings were bonds and not stocks.
By his explanation, he didn’t have to recuse himself since a holding bonds don’t mean that the holder has “ownership interest in the issuer.” There would be no “financial interest in the debtor,” according to Nichols.
He would add that he no longer has bonds in Apple or Microsoft. At the time, Nichols also dipped into other companies that were facing lawsuits. This included between $265,000 and $550,000 in Vanguard Growth—featuring shares held by Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Tesla. Those four companies were listed as defendants in a case he was overseeing.
The U.S Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit is expected to reach a decision in on this matter later this week.
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