Controversial Richmond judge no longer presiding over Lee statue case

By JUSTIN MATTINGLY Richmond Times-Dispatch 14 hrs ago

The Richmond Circuit Court judge who has blocked Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to take down the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue is no longer the judge in the case.

Judge Bradley B. Cavedo on Thursday recused himself from the legal challenge filed by William Gregory, a descendant of the people who signed over the land the statue stands on to the state, according to online court records. A reassignment order shows that Judge William R. Marchant will now preside over the case.

The recusal came the same day that six Monument Avenue residents who filed a separate lawsuit dropped their case in Richmond Circuit Court. Cavedo, who lives in the Monument Avenue Historic District, recused himself in that case as well.

Cavedo said in the order that he was recusing himself because of his home’s location in the historic district, a fact he said he was unaware of until the case.

In an email, Cavedo deferred to his recusal order. He included his reasoning in the order, which is something “we don’t usually do,” Cavedo said. “But these are unusual times.”

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, called Cavedo’s recusal appropriate, adding that judicial ethics codes say a judge should recuse if there’s an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of one.

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jmattingly@timesdispatch.com

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Twitter: @jmattingly306

Staff writer Michael Martz contributed to this report.