Opinion ID: 202116
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims of Actual Bias

Text: 105 Before turning to the heart of the argument for recusal, we first dispose of the government's argument that Judge Pérez-Giménez was actually biased against it. The government argues there were two proofs of actual bias: first, that the judge was predisposed against a key witness in the government's case, FBI Special Agent Ivan Vitousek, and second, that the judge was politically biased against prosecutions of former NPP officials. The government uses two incidents to support its claim of actual bias. 106 First, in moving for recusal, the government attached an affidavit from FBI Special-Agent-in-Charge (SAC) Fraticelli, which stated that on or about June 19, 2004, while he was in transition to the SAC position, he was summoned to a meeting with then-Chief Judge Laffitte and Judge Pérez-Giménez in Judge Laffitte's chambers. Fraticelli reported that Judge Laffitte expressed concern about recent media leaks in several high-profile cases, and [b]oth federal judges stated that . . . [Agent] Vitousek was responsible, noting that the leaks were more prevalent in cases for which he was the case agent. 107 This filing provoked the filing by Vazquez-Botet on December 12, 2005 of an affidavit from Judge Laffitte, as well as Judge Pérez-Giménez' response in the December 15, 2005 order. Judge Laffitte and Judge Pérez-Giménez deny having been so blunt as to say Agent Vitousek was responsible, and Judge Laffitte says he only pointed out the coincidence that leaks were more prevalent in cases in which Vitousek was case agent. Judge Laffitte did say that before the meeting, Judge Pérez-Giménez informed him that the leak investigation pointed to . . . Vitousek. Judge Pérez-Giménez does not address this point. 108 When Fraticelli questioned Vitousek, Vitousek denied being the source of any leak, and Fraticelli reported that fact back to Judge Pérez-Giménez in June 2004, as well as the government's position that any leaks did not come from the FBI. No action was taken as to the allegations against Agent Vitousek thereafter. There has never been a finding that Agent Vitousek was a source of leaks. Far from proving actual bias, this episode shows responsible actions by two judges legitimately concerned about maintenance of grand jury secrecy in their district. 109 The government also argues that there is other evidence of a predisposition by the district judge against Agent Vitousek, and indeed, against the government in criminal prosecutions of NPP officials. That evidence, it says, is found in our opinion in United States v. Rivera Rangel, 396 F.3d 476 (1st Cir.2005). In Rivera Rangel, another political corruption case, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against an NPP official who had been the executive assistant to the governor. The same judge as in this case set aside the verdict and alternatively ruled that the defendant was entitled to a new trial because government agents (including Agent Vitousek) had improperly failed to produce exculpatory evidence. This court held that both actions were in error, reversed, and remanded. Id. at 482-86. The court did not, however, base its reversal on any demonstration of actual bias. 110 Pursuant to our statutory power to reassign as may be just under the circumstances, 28 U.S.C. § 2106, we also instructed in the mandate that the case, on remand, be reassigned to a different judge. That statutory standard, again, does not depend on there being actual bias. See, e.g., Conley v. United States, 323 F.3d 7, 15 (1st Cir.2003) (en banc) (remanding to new judge, despite having no doubt about the good faith of the district judge, where remanding to original judge would put him in a very awkward position); Mawson v. United States, 463 F.2d 29, 31 (1st Cir. 1972) (per curiam) (ordering that on remand a new judge be assigned both for the [original] judge's sake, and the appearance of justice). 111 Again, we think the prosecution quite overreaches in its contention that the Rivera Rangel case somehow establishes actual bias in this case by the district judge.