Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Montana

It's my understanding and experience that judges recuse themselves from cases as soon as they realize they have a conflict of interest, or that one of the parties might feel that the judge has a conflict. It might be that the city attorney approached the first judge and suggested that the judge had a conflict or the appearance of a conflict and, not wanting the case to be jeopardized (for instance, overturned because of the appearance of a conflict) and therefore to be more costly than it should be, the judge stepped aside.

In some jurisdictions, the case then rotates to the next available judge, in your example, the second judge. That judge had no choice, it just dropped on his plate. The judge reviewed the documents, might have thought, "Hey, I know these guys, I have a business arrangement with one of them." That would be enough to create the appearance of a conflict, so the second judge stepped aside.

In small towns, and that's common in Montana, everybody really can know everybody else, and they can be involved in business deals, like a 25% interest in a farming operation, or owning a small business with a partner, or being second cousin to one of the parties. If it appears to be a conflict (even if it isn't a conflict in the judge's opinion), the judge should and probably step aside to avoid the appearance of a conflict. See how delicate that can be? Just having someone think that the judge might tilt a little bit toward his second cousin creates a tainted outcome.

So, in the interest of efficiency, economy, and judge's good judgment, s/he will decline to hear the case.