Black man's conviction overturned after judge says 'looks like a criminal to me'
The conviction of a Black man has been thrown out after the judge said the defendant "looks like a criminal to me".
Suspected drug dealer Leroy Liggins had his conviction overturned by an appeals court on Thursday which said his rights were violated by the white Detroit federal judge. “Such remarks are wholly incompatible with the fair administration of justice,” the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals said.
US District Judge Stephen Murphy III apologised nearly two years later when the case against Leron Liggins finally was ready for trial. He explained that he was mad at the time “and I regret it.” Nonetheless, the appeals court said Judge Murphy should have removed himself as Mr Liggins’ attorney had requested. The court threw out a heroin distribution conviction and 10-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial with a different judge.
Allowing the conviction to stand “would substantially undermine the public’s confidence in the judicial process,” 6th Circuit Judge Eric Clay said in a 3-0 opinion. Prosecutors said the remark was a reference to Liggins’ alleged conduct, not his appearance. But the appeals court said a “reasonable observer” could interpret it differently.
“Among the many disparaging remarks about Liggins that the district judge made, the most troubling is that Liggins ‘looks like a criminal to me,’” the appellate court opinion said.
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The Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit (AP)Regardless of Judge Murphy’s “intended meaning, we must consider the interpretation that a reasonable observer of this public hearing could have made, for we must guard against not only actual bias but also the appearance of bias, which ‘demeans the reputation and integrity’ of the court of which the district judge is a part,” the appellate court said.
Judge Murphy said he lost his composure in 2020 after Liggins repeatedly had switched between wanting to plead guilty and choosing a trial and also failed to get along with his second lawyer. He ended up with four.
“I’m tired of this case. I’m tired of this defendant. I’m tired of getting the runaround. This has been going on since February 6, 2018,” Judge Murphy said in court.
“This guy looks like a criminal to me. This is what criminals do,” the judge said. “This isn’t what innocent people who want a fair trial do. He’s indicted in Kentucky. He’s indicted here. He’s alleged to be dealing heroin, which addicts, hurts and kills people, and he’s playing games with the court.” At trial in 2021, Judge Murphy, a judge for 15 years, apologised and said he could be fair to Mr Liggins. “I lost my head,” he said.
According to the Attorney's Office, Mr Liggins was distributing heroin from 2015 to 2018 by hiding it in suitcases and flying it across the country.
"This sentencing should serve as a notice to would-be drug traffickers that DEA and our law enforcement partners will employ every resource to bring you to justice," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kent R. Kleinschmidt at the time. "Mr. Liggins has a demonstrated pattern of trading the suffering of others for his own personal gain and that pattern has come to an end."
Although Detroit has a terrible reputation for drug dealing and violent crime, levels have decreased significantly since their peak in the 1980s. This has been through the concerted efforts of local authorities, police and grass-roots organisations.
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