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Whatever the colour of a defendant's skin, they are entitled to presume that the judge who presides over their trial will administer the proceedings in an impartial manner. But trial judges in the USA are mostly elected officials; like prosecutors, their neutrality cannot be assumed merely because of the responsible position with which they have been entrusted by the community.
In Missouri, Brian Kinder, an unemployed back man, was tried before Judge Earl Blackwell in 1991. Six days before the trial started, Judge Blackwell released a press statement announcing his change of political allegiance from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. The statement read:
"The truth is that I have noticed in recent years that the Democratic party places far too much emphasis on representing minorities such as homosexuals, people who don't' (sic) want to work, and people with a skin that's any color but white."
Attorneys representing Kinder requested that the judge remove himself from the trial on the grounds that the statement indicated an inability to preside fairly in the case of an unemployed black man. Judge Blackwell refused, responding: "As far as this court is concerned, every individual...is absolutely entitled to their constitutional rights...I think people get off the track when they start talking about colour." Kinder was tried before an all-white jury, convicted and sentenced to death. He remains on death row.
A defence investigation of Judge Blackwell's background revealed that he had opposed the racial integration of Missouri schools during his term as a state senator. At a hearing into the issue of possible judicial bias against Kinder, Blackwell testified that he opposed integration on the grounds of cost.
The Missouri Supreme Court denied Kinder's appeal, ruling that Judge Blackwell's comments "did not call into question the judge's impartiality in the trial of the indigent African-American defendant". The press statement "merely expressed the trial judge's dissatisfaction with affirmative action and government entitlement programs". The Court's first-ever black judge, Justice Ronnie White, dissented from the ruling, characterizing Judge Blackwell's comments as "race-baiting" in an attempt to win an election.
In 1985, Anthony Peek was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Florida. A new judge was appointed after Peek was found guilty, explaining to the jury that, "for reasons they need not be concerned with", the original Judge was unable to preside over the penalty phase of the trial. On appeal, it was revealed that the reason for removing the original Judge was that he had referred to the defendant's family as "niggers". Anthony Peek was later granted a new trial, at which he was acquitted and released from death row.
It should come as no surprise that some judges have been removed for overt racism, considering that the judiciary in the USA consists almost exclusively of former attorneys and prosecutors, a number of whom have displayed racist attitudes. More troubling still is the likelihood that an unknown number of judges may have learned to mask their personal biases well enough to elude detection, while continuing to preside over death penalty cases.
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