Opinion ID: 709030
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Remarks of the District Court Quoted in a Newspaper Article

Text: 91 At the close of the proceedings of March 15, 1993, the District Court gave the jury its customary admonition to pay no attention to media coverage of the case. The next morning a prominent St. Louis newspaper reported that Judge George F. Gunn Jr. asked the news media not to publish Michael Lewis-Bey's photo, warning that his life is in jeopardy. Michael D. Sorkin, Temple Leader Called Drug Dealer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 16, 1993, at 3A. That morning the court discussed the article with the defendants and the attorneys, outside of the presence of the jury. The court explained that it had told the media that Lewis could be in danger from other prisoners in the institution where he was under protective custody because prisoners in general tend to dislike witnesses for the government. The court further stated that it had not mentioned the defendants in this case. 92 When the jurors entered the courtroom later that morning, the District Court addressed them as a group and asked if any of them had seen anything on television or in the newspapers about the testimony of Mr. Michael Lewis-Bey? Tr. vol. 54 at 17. After none of the jurors responded in the affirmative, the court commended them for following the instructions to pay no attention to media coverage of the case. Later that day the court again addressed the jurors collectively and asked [h]as anyone been talked to about either any newspaper article in the Post-Dispatch ... or any television report? Id. at 145. Again no juror indicated that he had seen or heard about the article. Three jurors stated that people had talked to them about a sketch of the jury that was shown on television but that they had not discussed the merits of the case. The court then told all the jurors that if anyone attempted to talk to them about the case they should report that to the court. The trial then proceeded. Appellants Bennett and Hopkins contend that the District Court should have questioned each of the jurors individually regarding possible exposure to the article and that the court should have conducted a full hearing concerning its own possible bias or disqualified itself from the case. 93 We first address the appellants' contention that the court erred by not questioning each juror individually about possible exposure to the article. A district court has broad discretion in determining the prejudicial effect on the jury of newspaper articles that are published during a criminal trial. United States v. Baker, 855 F.2d 1353, 1361 (8th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1069, 109 S.Ct. 2072, 104 L.Ed.2d 636 (1989); see also Marshall v. United States, 360 U.S. 310, 312, 79 S.Ct. 1171, 1173, 3 L.Ed.2d 1250 (1959). This discretion extends to the manner in which the court goes about making that determination. Baker, 855 F.2d at 1361. [I]f no juror indicates, upon inquiry made to the jury collectively, that he has read or heard any of the publicity in question, the judge is not required to proceed further. Margoles v. United States, 407 F.2d 727, 735 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 833, 90 S.Ct. 89, 24 L.Ed.2d 84 (1969); see also United States v. Sanders, 962 F.2d 660, 671 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 892, ----, 113 S.Ct. 262, 284, 121 L.Ed.2d 192, 210 (1992); United States v. Concemi, 957 F.2d 942, 946 (1st Cir.1992); United States v. Jones, 542 F.2d 186, 194 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 922, 96 S.Ct. 2629, 49 L.Ed.2d 375, 376 (1976). While we have recommended an individualized inquiry, see United States v. Hood, 593 F.2d 293, 296 (8th Cir.1979), a collective inquiry is not a per se abuse of discretion. See Baker, 855 F.2d at 1361 (approving a collective inquiry and noting that [t]he district court was in the best position to measure the prejudicial effect, if any, of the article on the jurors). 94 Having thoroughly reviewed the record, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its broad discretion by questioning the jurors collectively about their possible exposure to this article. No evidence indicated that any of the jurors had seen the article in question. The court twice asked if any of them had observed any publicity about the trial, the first time referring to anything in the newspapers about the testimony of Mr. Michael Lewis-Bey and the second time to any newspaper article in the Post-Dispatch. Tr. vol. 54 at 17, 145. None of the jurors responded affirmatively to either of these questions. Furthermore, the fact that three jurors frankly admitted that people had talked to them about a television newscast concerning the trial indicates that the jurors were not inhibited in their responses by being questioned collectively rather than individually. In these circumstances, the District Court's collective inquiry did not constitute an abuse of discretion. 95 The appellants also argue that Judge Gunn should have conducted a full hearing into his own possible bias or disqualified himself from the case. Any justice, judge, or magistrate of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned ... [or] [w]here he has personal bias or prejudice concerning a party. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 455(a)-(b)(1) (1988). We review rulings on motions to recuse for abuse of discretion. The test is one of objective reasonableness, that is, whether the judicial officer's impartiality might reasonably be questioned under the circumstances. Lunde v. Helms, 29 F.3d 367, 370 (8th Cir.1994) (internal citation omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 1111, 130 L.Ed.2d 1076 (1995). The Supreme Court recently explained that disqualification of a judge for bias is seldom appropriate unless the bias derives from an extrajudicial source. Liteky v. United States, --- U.S. ----, ----, 114 S.Ct. 1147, 1157, 127 L.Ed.2d 474 (1994). The Court held that opinions formed by the judge on the basis of facts introduced or events occurring in the course of the current proceedings, or of prior proceedings, do not constitute a basis for a bias or partiality motion unless they display a deep-seated favoritism or antagonism that would make fair judgment impossible. Id. 96 The District Court's impartiality could not reasonably be questioned in this case. The morning the article was published, the court explained its remarks to the defendants and the attorneys. This explanation revealed no bias against the defendants. Indeed, it showed good judgment. Michael Lewis and his family were in the witness protection program, and the publication of his photograph would have been directly contrary to the purposes of that program. In requesting the news media not to publish Michael Lewis's photo, the court gave a reason that did not implicate any of the defendants in this case. We conclude that the court did not display any antagonism toward the defendants, much less the deep-seated and unequivocal antagonism that would render fair judgment impossible that alone would justify disqualification for bias. Id. at 1158.