Counsel Letter Requesting Recusal — Children's Health Defense v. Rutgers (D.N.J.)

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No. 3:21-cv-15333-ZNQ-TJB · Doc. 8 · 2021-08-25 · Docket on CourtListener

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GOMEZ LLC                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Julio C. Gomez, Esq.
 
     ATTORNEY AT LAW                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                908.789.1080 Tel 
908.789.1081 Fax 
jgomez@gomezllc.com 
1451 COOPER ROAD 
SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ 07076 
August 25, 2021 
 
VIA CM-ECF 
Hon. Zahid N. Quarishi, U.S.D.J. 
United States District Court, District of New Jersey 
Clarkson S. Fisher Building & U.S. Courthouse 
402 East State Street 
Trenton, NJ 08608 
 
Re: 
Children’s Health Defense, Inc. et al. v. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, et al. 
 
Civ. Case No. 21-15333 (United States District Court, District of New Jersey 
 
 
 
Dear Judge Quarishi: 
 
I represent the Plaintiffs in the above-referenced matter against Rutgers, The State University of 
New Jersey, its Biomedical and Health Sciences School and various university officials.  
Defendants have been served and counsel for defendants have not entered an appearance yet. 
 
On August 18, 2021, Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson reassigned this case to Your Honor. (Dkt. 7) 
 
It has been brought to my firm's attention that, Your Honor is currently an Adjunct Professor at 
Rutgers Law School. See https://law.rutgers.edu/directory/view/13820. Since Your Honor may not 
be aware yet of this reassignment, I am compelled to bring this matter to Your Honor’s attention. 
 
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §455(a), concerning the disqualification of judges of the United States, 
”[a]ny justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any 
proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” The inherent conflict that 
your position at Rutgers presents, and the reasonable possibility that your impartiality might be 
questioned by the public if Your Honor presides over a matter against Rutgers, in a case of 
considerable public importance, compels me to respectfully request that Your Honor consider 
recusal. 
 
Since it is possible that Your Honor may not have been made aware of the reassignment of this 
case yet, and the inherent conflict in what is most likely an inadvertence by the Chief Judge, rather 
than filing a Motion to Compel recusal or for disqualification, I wanted to give Your Honor and 
the Court an opportunity to address this.  Thank you for your prompt attention and time to this 
delicate matter. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
/s/ Julio C. Gomez 
 
Julio C. Gomez 
 
Case 3:21-cv-15333-ZNQ-TJB   Document 8   Filed 08/25/21   Page 1 of 1 PageID: 115

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