If a Supreme Court judge has a personal interest in a case, what is the procedure?

• A. One of the district judges is invited to sit in his/her place
• B. The case is reassigned to another state's Supreme Court
• C. The judge continues to preside with no change
• D. A special master is appointed

Answer: (A)

When a Supreme Court judge has a personal interest in a case, fairness requires that judge to step aside so the decision isn’t influenced by any stake in the outcome. To keep the case moving and maintain confidence in the court’s impartiality, Wyoming provides a substitute for that case: a district judge is invited to sit in the Supreme Court for the proceedings. This lets the case be heard by a neutral judge from the state’s judiciary without delaying justice, and it avoids involving a different state's court or creating a long-term change in the bench.

The other options don’t fit this situation. Reassigning the case to another state's Supreme Court would violate state sovereignty and proper jurisdiction. The judge continuing to preside without change would undermine impartiality. Appointing a special master is generally used for fact-finding or complex proceedings, not for replacing a sitting appellate judge in a normal appeal.