United States v. Thomas

299 F. Supp. 494, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedNovember 8, 1968
Docket68 Cr. 224(1)
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 299 F. Supp. 494 (United States v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Thomas, 299 F. Supp. 494, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749 (E.D. Mo. 1968).

Opinion

299 F.Supp. 494 (1968)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff,
v.
Joseph Major THOMAS, Defendant.

No. 68 Cr. 224(1).

United States District Court E. D. Missouri, E. D.

November 8, 1968.

*495 *496 Veryl L. Riddle, U. S. Atty., St. Louis, Mo., Jim J. Shoemake and Dennis C. Donnelly, Asst. U. S. Attys., for plaintiff.

Forris D. Elliott and Murry A. Marks, Elliott & Marks, St. Louis, Mo., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HARPER, Chief Judge.

This matter is presently pending before this court on three motions made by the defendant; one, a motion to transfer, two, a motion to suppress certain evidence, and three, a motion for a bill of particulars.

On September 25, 1968, the defendant, Joseph Major Thomas, was indicted by a grand jury for a violation of 26 U.S.C.A. § 5851. On October 11, 1968, he was properly arraigned before the Honorable John K. Regan, District Judge, and entered his plea of not guilty. On October 15, 1968, defendant filed a motion to transfer, said motion being made pursuant to Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Rule 21 reads as follows:

"(a) For Prejudice in the District. The court upon motion of the defendant shall transfer the proceeding as to him to another district whether or not such district is specified in the defendant's motion if the court is satisfied that there exists in the district where the prosecution is pending so great a prejudice against the defendant that he cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial at any place fixed by law for holding court in that district.
"(b) Transfer in Other Cases. For the convenience of parties and witnesses, *497 and in the interest of justice, the court upon motion of the defendant may transfer the proceeding as to him or any one or more of the counts thereof to another district."

Even a hurried reading of these two subsections of Rule 21 reveal that this particular rule is entirely unrelated to the situation in which the defendant fears that he cannot receive a fair trial by reason of the alleged bias or prejudice of the presiding judge. This rule (21) patently exists to provide the criminal defendant with relief from a situation, usually the result of deplorable pretrial publicity, in which conditions are such that he cannot receive a fair trial by reason of jury prejudice (actual or potential) in the district or where it would be more convenient and just to try the defendant elsewhere. The court invites counsel's attention to the treatment of this Rule 21 in Moore, Federal Practice, Chapter 21, Vol. 8 (2nd Ed.) and in Barron and Holtzoff, Vol. 4, page 149 et seq. Further, a review of the cases generally decided under this rule has produced no case in which this rule has been utilized to attack the competence of a particular judge to hear a given case. The defendant's attempted usage of Rule 21 is entirely misplaced. Defendant's motion in this instant matter is based upon allegations of bias and prejudice of this judge. Such allegations do not come within the scope of Rule 21.

However, the defendant is not without a remedy. 28 U.S.C.A. § 144 provides the specific means whereby the defendant may assert the alleged personal bias or prejudice of a judge as a cause for his recuse. This section reads:

"Whenever a party to any proceeding in a district court makes and files a timely and sufficient affidavit that the judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice either against him or in favor of any adverse party, such judge shall proceed no further therein, but another judge shall be assigned to hear such proceeding.
"The affidavit shall state the facts and reasons for the belief that bias or prejudice exists, and shall be filed not less than ten days before the beginning of the term at which the proceeding is to be heard, or good cause shall be shown for failure to file it within such time. A party may file only one such affidavit in any case. It shall be accompanied by a certificate of counsel of record stating that it is made in good faith."

It is clear from the record that the defendant's first "motion to transfer" filed on October 15, 1968, was in fact a motion which should have properly been made under this Section 144. That motion, as in this instant situation, alleged the personal bias and prejudice of the judge then presiding. It is amply apparent that the Honorable Judge Regan treated that motion as a proper request under Section 144. That he had examined his own conscience and decided that he could not perhaps grant the defendant a fair trial and, therefore, withdrew is in the finest traditions of this judicial system. On October 21, 1968, Judge Regan sustained defendant's motion and transferred the cause to this court. (It might be noted that since the terminology employed uses the word "transfer" one might be led to suspect that a Rule 21 motion which also uses that word is the proper motion in such a situation. It is not.) On October 29, 1968, shortly after this court had ruled on a motion for preliminary injunction in a matter entitled Koen, et al. v. Long, et al. No. 68C 429(1), defendant filed this instant motion.

As previously noted, this court must overrule this motion if it is continued to be made "pursuant to Rule 21 * * *". However, in the interests of justice, such motion will be examined as if it were made pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 144.

It is perfectly obvious that the existence of a completely fair and impartial tribunal is the most basic requirement of due process. Without that, our judicial system would be a farce. *498 As stated, "[D]emocracy must, indeed, fail unless our courts try cases fairly, and there can be no fair trial before a judge lacking in impartiality and disinterestedness." In re J. P. Linahan, 138 F.2d 650, 651 (2nd Cir. 1943). See, e. g., In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 75 S. Ct. 623, 99 L.Ed. 942 (1955). But the impartiality required is not a strict neutrality. It is, of course, impossible for our judges to come into their court rooms devoid of their own personal experiences, beliefs and backgrounds. In re Linahan, supra; Ex parte N. K. Fairbank Co., 194 F. 978, 989 (D.C.Ala. 1912); In re Union Leader Corp., 292 F.2d 381, 388 (1st Cir. 1961). "For example, prior judicial views will not disqualify." In re Union Leader Corp., supra, at 388; Denis v. Perfect Parts, Inc., 142 F.Supp. 259 (D.C.D.Mass.1956).

As noted, "[T]he statute never contemplated crippling our courts by disqualifying a judge, solely on the basis of a bias (or state of mind, Berger v. United States, 255 U.S. 22, 42, 41 S.Ct. 230, 65 L.Ed. 481) against wrongdoers, civil or criminal, acquired from evidence presented in the course of judicial proceedings before him. Any other construction would make the statute an intolerable obstruction to the efficient conduct of judicial proceedings, now none too speedy or effective." Craven v. United States, 22 F.2d 605

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Bluebook (online)
299 F. Supp. 494, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thomas-moed-1968.