Whitey Bulger Gets Federal Judge Booted From His Case

James "Whitey" Bulger, the notorious Boston gangster and inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed, score a victory today in his federal court case.  Bulger succeeded on a motion before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to have the trial judge replaced. 

The  judge, Richard Stearns, was a top ranking prosecutor in the US attorney's office in the 1980s, during Bulger's heyday.  The was also the same time that Bulger claims that another US attorney granted him immunity (like his counterpart in The Departed).  Bulger's attorney, J.W. Carney, Jr., argued that given the close working relationship and information shared between the two prosecutors at the time, it is likely that the Judge would be unable to maintain impartiality during the forthcoming trial.  The Court of Appeals agreed, saying “With great respect for the trial judge, we nonetheless grant the petition, because it is clear that a reasonable person would question the capacity for impartiality of any judicial officer with the judge’s particular background in the federal prosecutorial apparatus in Boston during the period covered by the accusations.’’

The Court went on to say, “Given the institutional ties described here, the reasonable person might well question whether a judge who bore supervisory responsibility for prosecutorial activities during some of the time at issue could suppress his inevitable feelings and remain impartial when asked to determine how far to delve into the relationship between defendant and Government, and to preside over whatever enquiry may ultimately be conducted...In sum, despite our respect for Judge Stearns and our belief in his sincerity, we are nonetheless bound to conclude that it is clear that a reasonable person might question the judge’s ability to preserve impartiality through the course of this prosecution and the likely rulings made necessary by the immunity claim.’’

What impact this will have on the trial, only time will tell.  But I think its a safe bet that Whitey enjoyed sticking it to law enforcement one last time. 

Got any legal questions?  Email me at AThayer@srt-law.com or give me a call at (401) 849-3040.

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