recuse

Verb

recuse (third-person singular simple present recuses, present participle recusing, simple past and past participle recused)

1. (often, reflexive, transitive) To reject or repudiate (an authority, a person, a court judgment, etc.).
   • And therfore, if ayenst this peticion any processe be made of any maner Juge spirituel or temporell, and soo the same John have wronge, thanne he provoketh and appelleth this cause directly to the rightwisness of god and to the liege lorde, ffor other juges in his matere he hath utterly suspecte...[c. 1421, J. B., “XI. A Petition by J. B. (a Suspected Lollard) to King Henry V.”, in Cecil Munro, editor, Letters of Queen Margaret of Anjou and Bishop Beckington and Others. Written in the Reigns...
   • [T]he Quenys grace may alvvayes recuſe & appell at her good pleaſure & libertie, from vvhatſoever Decree or Sentence, either interlocutorie, or definitive, ſhe vvil: […]1509–1547 (date written), John Strype, “[Appendix: […].] Numb[er] XXVI. Dr. Fox to Dr. Gardiner; Giving Him a Relation of His Reception at Court, upon His Return from His Embassy.”, in Ecclesiastical...
   1. (often, reflexive, transitive) Of a judge, juror, or prosecutor: to declare (oneself) unable to participate in a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
      • The judge recused herself from that case, citing a possible conflict of interest as one of the parties was a personal friend.
      • The revelation is almost certain to prompt calls for [Samuel] Alito, a member of the court’s conservative wing, to recuse himself from several high-profile cases pending before the court this year involving the election and subsequent attack on the US Capitol, including the blockbuster question of...2024 May 17, John Fritze, “New York Times: Upside-down US flag flew at home of Justice Samuel Alito after 2020 election”, in CNN
   2. (Canada, US, often, reflexive, transitive) To object to (a judge, juror, or prosecutor) participating in a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
      • The ſaid [Nicholas] Fiott, likevviſe, recuſeth James Pipon, eſq; [as being a judge in the cause] ſeeing, that he knovvs that the ſaid Fiott is the perſon vvho is the cauſe that the ſaid Pipon hath been ſued by rigour of lavv, before the council, in order to oblige him to do juſtice to the poor...1771, [John Shebbeare], An Authentic Narrative of the Oppressions of the Islanders of Jersey. […], volume II, London: […] S. Hooper, […], →OCLC, pages 238–239
2. (obsolete, often, reflexive, transitive) To refuse (to do something).
3. (obsolete, often, rare, reflexive, transitive) To dismiss (an appeal).
   • [N]otvvithſtanding that the ſaid Judges amply and ſufficiently declared, as vvell the ſincerity of their minds directly, juſtly to proceed vvithout favour, dread, affection, or partiality; […] yet ſhe nevertheleſs perſiſting in her former vvilfulneſs, and in her Appeal, vvhich alſo by the ſaid...1529 July 2 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Henry VIII, “[A Collection of Records and Original Papers; with Other Instruments Referred to in the Former History.] XXVIII. The King's Letter to His...