Black to get new judge
From the Charlotte Observer:
The federal judge scheduled to sentence former House Speaker Jim Black removed himself from the case Tuesday, marking a legal victory for Black and delaying his expected move to a federal prison.U.S. District Judge James Dever filed an order Tuesday evening recusing himself from the case. The dramatic move comes a month after Black's lawyer asked Dever to withdraw, charging that he had a conflict of interest. While a lawyer in private practice, Dever represented the state Republican Party in a lawsuit that targeted Black and other Democratic leaders.
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Dever sounds less than convinced of the need to recuse himself. From his order:
Black does not allege any actual bias or prejudice by this court. Needless to say, this court has no such bias or prejudice against Black. Rather, Black discusses perception. Black believes reasonable people might reasonably perceive that his 2007 federal criminal case is about my role as a lawyer in an official-capacity civil redistricting lawsuit filed in 2001. That notion is false. Black's federal criminal case is not about redistricting or my prior work as a lawyer. Black's federal criminal case is about his guilty plea to soliciting and accepting cash from chiropractors between 2000 and 2005. Further, as demonstrated in Parts I1 and 111 of this order, recusal is not required ....