AUGUSTA, Maine — All six of Maine’s federal judges recused themselves from a Republican’s lawsuit against a legislative leader because one of their employees is directly affected by the controversy surrounding the case.
Those circumstances were disclosed by Maine’s top federal judge in a Wednesday evening statement clarifying earlier orders from each of the state’s six federal judges that put the charged lawsuit filed Tuesday by state Rep. Laurel Libby against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau in the hands of judges from Rhode Island.
U.S. District Court Judge Lance E. Walker did not name the employee who forced the recusals, only saying that someone who works for the federal court system was “involved in or directly impacted by the controversy underlying this litigation.” Walker and five other judges independently decided that they could not participate in the case.
It was a straightforward reason for the procedural move affecting Libby’s case. The Republican from Auburn has become a lightning rod for posts last month that pictured and identified a transgender high school athlete. They caught the eye of President Donald Trump, whose administration has launched unprecedented investigations threatening federal funding.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives censured Libby for her posts last month. After she refused to apologize to the chamber, Fecteau, a Democrat from Biddeford, invoked a rule that bars her from voting or speaking on the House floor. Libby’s lawsuit alleges that violated her rights under the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The posts focused on a transgender athlete at Greely High School in North Yarmouth who recently won a girls indoor track and field championship. A person with the same name as that athlete’s parent has been listed online as a clerk and administrator for the federal court.
In a Wednesday order signed by John J. McConnell Jr., chief federal judge for the District of Rhode Island, Melissa R. DuBose will preside over Libby’s case. President Joe Biden nominated DuBose to serve as a judge for the U.S. District of Rhode Island in January 2024 and began serving on Jan. 2, 2025.