[Newspaper Clipping: Presumption of innocence] Part: 5 of 20
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- - - V- -- - - V- --I
Y
Tra sfra
Transferof cases
riles judge
By CHRISTI HARLAN
County Criminal Court Judge Chuck Miller vo-
luntarily transferred six public lewdness cases
from his court Tuesday and, in the order, blasted
Dist. Atty. Henry Wade's office for "forum shop.
ping" and for accusing Miller of bias in the cases.
Miller said Wade's office was shopping for a
"more favorable forum" when assistant Dist, Atty.
Bill Arnold dismissed the cases in Miller's court
and refiled them in another court while Miller was
out of town.
The cases involved the Oct. 25 arrest of 10 pa-
trons of the Village Station bar, at 4001 Cedar
Springs. Two of the men pleaded guilty to public
CHUCK
MILLER
,, Aecusea DA
. f "shopping"
for a foruM.
lewdness charges and two others were lounp4 unt
guilty after trials before Miller
Chief misdemeanor prosecutor Winfield Scott
asked Miller to disqualify himself from hearing the
cases in a "motion to recuse" filed April 29, saying,
The state dismissed these cases in Miller's court
and refiled them in Judge (Ben) Ellis' court be-
cause Miller found two co-defendants not guilty.
"IT WAS 13VIQUS TO the state from alL the cir-
cumstances of these two trials that Miller was
going to find the remaining six defendants not
guilty," Scott charged, and that Miller had "a per-
sonal bias and prejudice" against the Dallas police.
men who testified in the cases.
Miller denied the motion to recuse May 7, say-
ing a judge only can be disqualified if he has pecu-
niary interest in a case, if he is related to any party
in a case or if he previously has represented a party
in the case.
"To the question of whether I should transfer
the cases for appearance sake or to make my life
easier, which it would, or any other reason . .. the
court of criminal appeals clearly states'a judge, not
being disqualified, has a duty, however embarrass-
ing, to proceed with the trial,' " Miller said May 7.
in the transfer order signed, Tuesday, Miller
said, "The mere accusation (of bias) itself creates
the possibility of a cloud hanging over whatever
verdicts are reached by this trial judge in these
cases."
He said he transferred the cases to maintain
"the highest level of public trust in the judiciary
and its rulings.",
Miller also said he "could, and would with ease,
conduct a trial fair to both sides. . . . If the case
were otherwise, the court would have transferred
these trials initially without . .. the publicity: hat
has arisen."MILLER SAID HE RESISTED transferring ,the
cases "solely on the principle that forum shopping
is not and cannot be condoned." The transfers
were made, he said, "on the assumption that the
aforementioned tactics of the district attorney are
singular in nature and will not be repeated ."
Scott, reached at home Tuesday night, said he
had no reaction to Miller's order, but attorneys for
the six defendants were "quite upset," said John
Albach, who represents one of the defendants.
"This is a tremendous indication of the power
the district attorney's office wields over the judges
and the entire justice system," he said. "Alljg
Wade has to do now, by this logic, is mqke a
accusation of prejudice or bias. By iIy raisn
the issue, either way, the DA should win."I
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Dallas Times Herald. [Newspaper Clipping: Presumption of innocence], clipping, May 23, 1980; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc965314/m1/5/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.