Petitioners recognize the gravity of this application, and do not relish being forced to recognize the partiality of a formidable jurist such as Judge Kaplan.
The one blot in foreign policy has been Mr Berlusconi's partiality for Russia's Vladimir Putin, whom he appears to see as another businessman-turned-politician under unfair attack from the media.
Committee members said they were concerned that the "content of his comedy routine could give rise to an appearance of bias, partiality or impropriety or otherwise negatively affect the dignity of the judiciary, " according to court papers.
They needn't ever speak of it, simply because their whiteness and gender insulates them from the presumption of partiality and bias that is regularly attached to women judges and judges of color when it comes to matters of race and gender.