can a judge with a conflict of interest still be neutral is the question and so far the evidence is no; 

 

Another day, another stunning example of the two-tier justice system.

Minnesota’s chief federal judge, Patrick J. Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, is now threatening to hold Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court over detainee releases tied to Operation Metro Surge, a Trump-era enforcement initiative that netted more than 3,000 arrests of criminal noncitizens in the Twin Cities.

But newly resurfaced information raises serious questions about whether Judge Schiltz should have ever touched the case.

Late Monday, Judge Schiltz issued an extraordinary order summoning ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to appear in person in federal court in Minneapolis, warning that the court’s “patience is at an end.”

The judge accused ICE of repeatedly violating court orders by failing to release detainees quickly enough after habeas rulings, specifically citing the case of Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, an Ecuadorian national who entered the U.S. illegally as a minor in 1999.

Robles was arrested during Operation Metro Surge on January 6 and transferred to Texas.

Although a judge granted a habeas petition ordering his release on January 14, ICE did not immediately release him.

Robles was ultimately freed Tuesday afternoon, making it unlikely Lyons will now appear in court, according to NBC News.

According to reporting by Bill Melugin of Fox News, Judge Schiltz appears on a 2019 donor and volunteer list for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, a radical pro-illegal alien organization that provides free legal services to illegal immigrants and routinely litigates against ICE and DHS...........more......