Jurisdiction of the court after a recusal order is entered The trial court judge did not have jurisdiction to enter an order resolving matters tried by the judge because he had previously signed an order recusing himself and assigning the case to another judge. Where the trial judge recused himself before entering the written order resolving matters he tried before signing the recusal order, the case had to be retried before a new judge.  The trial judge heard evidence in a case concerning custody and child support. After the conclusion of the evidence, he ordered that defendant’s attorney draft an order reflecting his oral ruling. Thereafter, the trial judge granted the plaintiff’s motion that he recuse himself and entered an order recusing himself and assigning the case to another judge.

Sometime after entry of the recusal order, the trial judge signed the written order resolving the custody and support matters. The plaintiff appealed that order. The court of appeals held that the trial judge did not have jurisdiction to enter the custody and child support order because he had recused himself from the case after the conclusion of the evidence but before entry of the final written order. 



The custody and child support orders were vacated and remanded to the trial court, with instruction that a new trial be held before a different judge. As the judge who heard the evidence had not made findings of fact based on that evidence before recusing himself, no other judge could enter an order resolving the matters on the evidence originally presented to the court.