Some know her as Hannah Montana, but the courts only know her as Miley Cyrus, teenage pop icon. And her recent battles in court have been fueled by the latest drama surrounding Honorable Hess, the judge originally presiding over the case. From an article released by On Point News, “a Los Angeles judge [Superior Court Judge Robert L. Hess] has stepped down from a case alleging Miley Cyrus discriminated against Asian Pacific Islanders with a facial expression after the plaintiff accused him of racial bias for using the word ‘Oriental’ in a court hearing.”
Honorable Hess is no longer presiding over the case because of the following verbiage declared in open court. “The people in the photo, he said, included ‘Orientals and non-Orientals’ and Cyrus’s gesture ‘could be construed as mocking or disparaging of persons of Oriental ancestry.” Kim, the plaintiff in the case against Ms. Cyrus, filed with the court contentions that proposed “Hess’s ‘use of the word ‘Oriental’ is akin to using the word ‘N—er’ or ‘Negro’ when referring to African Americans” and ‘reflects racial bias’ toward Asians.” And thus, “in refusing to acknowledge that Cyrus’ ‘act of slanting her eyes was a racially offensive gesture,’ Kim argued, Honorable Hess ‘was influenced by [his] own bias against Asians.’ That bias ‘prevent[s] this court from being fair and impartial in this case.” Honorable Hess recused himself last month and the case as of now is assigned to Judge Ronald Sohigian.
Do you agree that Honorable Hess should have recused himself? What are some of the professional responsibility and ethical considerations surrounding this situation?
-Liz McCurry-
