Advertisement

Judge In Bulger Case Refuses To Step Aside

The federal judge presiding over the trial of Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger has refused a defense lawyer's request to step down.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said in a three-page decision issued Sunday that a motion by Bulger's lead attorney last week seeking the judge's recusal "raises no new issues of material fact or law."

Stearns said the case was randomly assigned to him in 1999 and he intends to "see it through fairly and expeditiously."

Bulger's lawyer in the motion said Bulger had been granted immunity by former U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan and Stearns' time as a federal prosecutor overlapped O'Sullivan's time in Boston. Bulger's lawyer also said he may call Stearns as a witness.

Stearns said he was never involved in a case concerning Bulger.

Bulger's lawyer had no comment.

This program aired on October 29, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close