Black wants new judge

Lawyer says Dever has a conflict, cites redistricting suit

RALEIGH -- The federal judge scheduled to sentence former House Speaker Jim Black later this month should recuse himself, Black's attorney said Thursday, citing the judge's history in a legislative redistricting case.

Ken Bell, Black's lawyer, said U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III, while still an attorney in private practice, sued Black and other state officials on behalf of state Republican leaders and a GOP voter earlier this decade. The lawsuit challenged the maps approved by the General Assembly for its own House and Senate districts.

Dever's clients won the redistricting case at the state Supreme Court, forcing Black and other lawmakers to redraw the districts. If Dever sentences Black on May 18, Bell wrote, "it will appear to the public that Judge Dever will indeed have had the last word on the redistricting battle engaged in during his private practice."

Dever didn't immediately return a phone call Thursday seeking comment.

Black, D-Mecklenburg, admitted in February that he took money from three chiropractors while also supporting their agenda at the legislature. He pleaded guilty to one count of accepting things of value in connection with the business of state government.

Black could face up to a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Dever wrote this week that he is considering an "upward departure" from the range of sentences recommended by court officials for Black.

Dever last week sentenced former Rep. Michael Decker to four years in prison -- double the amount recommended by prosecutors -- after Decker admitted he solicited and accepted $50,000 from Black in campaign contributions and cash to switch parties and support him for speaker in 2003. Black has denied the payments were a bribe.

Bell said the outcome of the redistricting litigation combined with comments Dever made at Decker's sentencing could cause outside observers to question Dever's ability to act objectively at Black's sentencing. "The compelling need for public confidence in the impartiality of the courts," Bell wrote, "can only be protected in this heavily reported case by Judge Dever disqualifying himself from further proceedings."