UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA SAVANNAH DIVISION JOHN DOE, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CV420-033 ) BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER

This case was recently removed from state court and assigned to the undersigned. Doc. 1. Because of my prior service as a volunteer board member of one of the defendants, I recuse. Two federal statutes govern judicial disqualification due to conflict of interests. The first,

, only applies when “a party . . . makes and files a timely and sufficient affidavit . . . .” Since no such affidavit has been filed, it does not apply here. The second,

, “places a judge under a self-enforcing obligation to recuse himself where the proper legal grounds exist.” United States v. Alabama,

(11th Cir. 1987), superseded by statute on other grounds as recognized by J.W. by and through Tammy Williams v. Birmingham Bd. of Ed.,

(11th Cir. 2018). Prior to becoming a member of this Court, I served as an executive board member (including a term as President) of the Coastal Georgia Council, Inc. Because it is vital that litigants and the public see that the judicial process is fair and impartial, I will exercise my discretionary power to recuse in this case. The Clerk is DIRECTED to forward a copy of this Order to the assigned District Judge for reassignment. SO ORDERED, this 21st day of February, 2020. NY, od a CHRISTOPHER L. RAY UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA