Attorney Tom Clay has filed the recusal motions in the cases of Linda Wells Back and Mike Duncan. Both claimed they were fired for political reasons so they sued in federal court. But they're claiming judge Caldwell shouldn't be hearing their cases, citing Caldwell's "friendship" with Fletcher, her contributions to his political campaigns and her husband's job with the Fletcher administration. Caldwell's husband is Lloyd Cress who is a commissioner in the Cabinet for Environmental Protection.
According to the court filing, judge Caldwell has given $5000 to Fletcher's various campaigns and about $9500 to other republican candidates and causes over the past decade. Clay claims in his motion that Caldwell signed an order delaying Duncan's case and the planned deposition of Governor Fletcher, without giving him a chance to argue against it. Clay concludes "Judge Caldwell's history and actions in this case certainly give the appearance of iimpropriety, if not outright bias. Her disqualification is thus sufficiently warranted, to say the least."

Caldwell was appointed by President Bush. She is a former U.S. Attorney who handled several of the BOPTROT corruption cases in the early 1990s.