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Politics Headlines
Saturday July 31 11:10 AM ET
Clinton Picks Tried Hubbell, Trie
By PETE YOST Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The chief judge of the U.S. District Court
bypassed the traditional random assignment system to send
criminal cases against presidential friends Webster Hubbell and
Charlie Trie to judges appointed by President Clinton, according to
court officials.
U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson's decision to abandon
the longtime random computer assignment for the high-profile
cases has raised concerns among several other judges, according
to Associated Press interviews with them.
The judges also raise concerns about an appearance of possible
conflicts of interest, because judges who got the cases were
friendly with key players - presidential confidant Vernon Jordan and
defense lawyer Reid Weingarten - and made rulings that
handicapped prosecutors.
Half a dozen judges, Republicans as well as Democrats, said they
have high regard for the ethics and work of the two judges involved,
Thomas Friedman and James Robertson, and do not believe they
were improperly influenced.
But the judges, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they
have discussed among themselves the public perception of ignoring
the random draw - which is used in almost all cases - and passing
over more experienced judges appointed by presidents of both
parties.
One judge said his colleagues have discussed whether assigning
cases directly rather than using the random lottery raises ``an
appearance problem at least'' and ``whether there has been
impartial administration of justice.''
Johnson, Friedman and Robertson all declined repeated requests
for interviews.
The airing of the behind-the-scenes controversy provides a rare
window into a court process sealed from public view.
Johnson, an appointee of President Carter, assigned:
-Friedman the Trie case, the first major prosecution from the
Justice Department probe of Democratic fund raising. Clinton
nominated Friedman, a former president of the local bar, in 1994.
-Robertson the Hubbell tax case, Independent Counsel Kenneth
Starr's first prosecution in Washington. Robertson is an ex-
president of the local bar and a former partner at the law firm of
former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler.
Robertson was nominated by Clinton in the last days of Cutler's
tenure as counsel in 1994. Robertson donated $1,000 to Clinton's
1992 presidential bid and has said he ``worked on the periphery'' of
that campaign.
When Johnson bypassed the random draw for these cases, there
were 12 full-time judges on the federal court, seven of them Clinton
appointees. Four were Republican appointees. The court also has
a number of senior judges who work part-time.
Experts said the assignments to Clinton-nominated judges did not
violate any rules, but could shake public confidence.
``As far as assigning a recently appointed judge of the same party,
it's dangerous, it's risky, it's hazardous because the outcome
might support the cynical view that the judge did not decide the
matter on the merits even though that may be the furthest thing
from the truth,'' Columbia University law professor H. Richard Uviller
said.
New York University law professor Stephen Gillers said, ``If the
case is high-profile, that should increase the presumption in favor of
random selection.''
The assignments were confirmed to AP by several court officials
with access to parts of the court computer system not available to
the general public.
Local court rules give Johnson the right to assign ``protracted''
cases to specific judges, although nearly all the cases in U.S.
District Court here are assigned by lottery, court officials said.
The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the federal
judiciary, recommends that federal courts randomly assign cases.
In March, the conference rescinded its 28-year-old policy which
recommended giving chief judges latitude to make special
assignments of ``protracted, difficult, or widely publicized cases.''
Actual practice varies from court to court.
In the Southern District of New York where there are more than two
dozen full-time judges, Court Executive Clifford P. Kirsch said, ``It's
all been by a blind draw ... so it doesn't appear anyone is pre-
selecting or favoring one judge over another judge.''
Johnson garnered headlines for her rulings against Clinton in the
Monica Lewinsky scandal, rejecting privilege claims by the
president and ordering White House lawyer Bruce Lindsey and
Secret Service personnel to testify.
Robertson dismissed the tax case against Hubbell, who eventually
pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor when an appeals court reinstated
the case. Johnson allowed a later indictment - charging Hubbell
with lying to federal regulators - to be assigned at random by
computer. By coincidence, the computer picked Robertson, who
threw out the central felony count in the case. Hubbell pleaded
guilty to that same felony count June 30 after an appeals court
reversed Robertson.
One politically sensitive aspect of the Hubbell tax evasion
indictment was a reference to a $62,500 consulting arrangement
that Jordan helped obtain for Hubbell, making Jordan a potential
witness.
Robertson and Jordan are friends from their days in the civil rights
movement. Jordan did not return repeated calls seeking comment.
Johnson assigned the Trie case and two subsequent cases against
Democratic fund-raisers to Friedman, who tossed out various
charges.
After one of Friedman's rulings was overturned on appeal, Trie
agreed to plead guilty.
Friedman and Weingarten, the defense lawyer in two of the three
fund-raising cases before Friedman, are longtime friends.
``He's a professional friend, but he's a judge now,'' Weingarten said.
``These relationships change when somebody goes to the bench.''
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