Trump appointed the judge in his own case. Is that legal?

Does appointing a judge create a conflict of interest for that judge? Can a judge ethically preside over a case involving the man who nominated her? In this interview on judicial ethics and judicial recusal, Alicia Bannon of the Brennan Center for Justice explains the rules and laws involving recusal and how it applies when the judge was appointed by a litigant in a case before her. How does this apply in the case involving President Trump before Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he appointed in 2020? Must the judge recuse herself? According to Bannon, the short answer is no. Simply appointing a judge is unlikely to meet the test of "actual bias" as established by the Supreme Court in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. The conversation then focuses on the application of recusal standards in the case involving former President Donald Trump and the seizure of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. In that case, Bannon explains that the mere fact that Judge Cannon was appointed by Trump would likely be insufficient grounds to require her to recuse herself from the case. Alicia Bannon is a nationally recognized expert on U.S. courts and serves as the director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. ► http://www.talksonlaw.com for more legal explainers and interviews with the titans of law. ____________________ 0:00 Does appointing a judge present a conflict of interest? 0:42 The Test for Analyzing Recusal 1:03 Caperton v. Massey (Supreme Court of the United States) 2:50 "Serious Risk of Actual Bias" 3:50 Must Judge Cannon recuse herself from President Trump's case? 5:00 What might support a recusal claim against Judge Cannon?