A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously found that U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford’s decision not to recuse herself was “based on a clear error of law.”

A federal appeals court has disqualified a judge from hearing an Idaho death row inmate's lawsuit accusing prosecutors of fabricating evidence to prevent him from winning clemency, saying the judge should have recused herself due to her friendship with the top prosecutor in the case.

Thomas Creech, 74, has argued that a repeat effort to give him a lethal injection would violate his constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment.