Campbell v. Clarke

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA

HERBERT L. CAMPBELL,

Petitioner,

vs.

HAROLD W. CLARKE,

Respondent.

4:04CV3226

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on Petitioner Herbert L. Campbell’s Motion for
Recusal. Filing No. 15. This closed habeas case was originally assigned to the late
Judge Laurie Smith Camp but was reassigned to me after Petitioner filed a motion for
new trial on May 18, 2026. See Filing No. 13 (reassignment order). Petitioner now seeks
my recusal because he filed a complaint against my brother, Douglas County District
Court Judge Peter C. Bataillon, in April 2025, which Petitioner alleges creates a conflict
of interest and appearance of impropriety. Filing No. 15 at 1.
The subject matter of this federal habeas case and Petitioner’s other pending
motions in this closed case, see Filing No. 12; Filing No. 14; Filing No. 16, is Petitioner’s
2002 state court conviction in the Lancaster County District Court, which Judge Steven
Burns presided over, not my brother. Additionally, the Nebraska Judicial Qualifications
Commission complaint is confidential by law, I would have no awareness of the complaint
without notification by the Petitioner. Finally, the complaint was filed in 2025 and
apparently disposed of at a Commission meeting scheduled May 16, 2025. Whatever
Petitioner’s 2025 complaint against my brother may be, it is irrelevant to the issues in this
case and does not require my recusal.
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that: Petitioner’s Motion for Recusal, Filing No.
15, is denied.

Dated this 1st day of July, 2026.

BY THE COURT:

Joseph F. Bataillon
Senior United States District Judge

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