In Re Faircloth

In In re Faircloth, 153 N.C. App. 565, 570, 571 S.E.2d 65, 69 (2002), the respondent in a termination of parental rights proceeding argued that the trial judge erred by refusing to recuse himself from the termination proceeding. Id. at 569, 571 S.E.2d at 68. The trial judge had previously presided over a "hearing on allegations that the four children were abused and neglected" and the trial judge had previously adjudicated the four children abused and neglected. Id. However, on appeal our Court reversed the abuse and neglect adjudication on the ground that "the trial court applied an erroneous legal standard in denying the respondent's request to call three of the children as witnesses." Id. (citing In re Faircloth, 137 N.C. App. 311, 318, 527 S.E.2d 679, 684 (2000)). Therefore, the respondent argued that the trial judge in the termination proceeding "was biased and could not be impartial because he heard evidence against the respondent in the previous abuse and neglect proceeding without hearing from the three children the respondent sought to call as witnesses." Id. at 569, 571 S.E.2d at 68-69. Our Court rejected the respondent's argument, recognizing that "knowledge of evidentiary facts gained by a trial judge from an earlier proceeding does not require disqualification." Id. at 570, 571 S.E.2d at 69. Our Court also rejected "any contention that the trial judge should be disqualified because he earlier adjudicated the four children abused and neglected." Id. at 570-71, 571 S.E.2d at 69.