Judge’s Ties to Prosecutor Spurs Removal From Death-Row Lawsuit

An Idaho judge can’t preside over a death-row inmate’s lawsuit due to her friendship with a prosecutor whose conduct is challenged in the litigation, a federal appeals court ruled.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday said that US District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford committed a “clear error of law” in declining to recuse herself from the case filed by Thomas Eugene Creech. The panel pointed to Brailsford’s relationship with Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, as the two clerked together for the same Ninth Circuit judge.

“Although we are confident that Judge Brailsford would in fact ...