Mischler v. Bevin, No. 18-5249 (6th Cir. 2018)

Mischler filed a civil rights action against multiple government officials. She asked the district court judge to recuse himself from the case under 28 U.S.C. 144. On March 2, 2018, the district court denied Mischler’s motion. On March 7, Mischler appealed the order. The Sixth Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The district court has not entered a final appealable order terminating all of the issues presented in the litigation. An order denying recusal is not immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine. A possible exception applies only when a petitioner alleges that delay will cause irreparable harm. While Mischler insists that the judge “should have recused” himself “because his paramour” is an employee of one of the defendants, she made no argument “that the harm [she] might suffer if forced to await the final outcome . . . is any greater than the harm suffered by any litigant forced to wait.”