SHREVEPORT, La. -- Caddo District Court Judge Chris Victory, who acquitted four police officers of criminal charges in the death of a prisoner, is not biased toward police and should not be recused from hearing the trial of another law officer, a colleague has ruled.
Caddo prosecutors had taken the unusual step of seeking Victory’s recusal from the upcoming bench trial of a sheriff’s deputy, saying he is biased in favor of law enforcement, as evidenced by his recent acquittal of the police officers and his membership in a fraternal police organization. Victory denied favoritism and refused to recuse himself, but asked another judge to decide the issue.
Judge Chris Victory
Caddo District Judge Donald Hathaway heard testimony Thursday and ruled in Victory’s favor.
“There was absolutely no evidence of any bias by Judge Chris Victory in the police officers’ case; he conducted a fair and impartial trial,” said Ron Miciotto, the deputy’s attorney, who argued Victory should not be recused from hearing his client’s case. “The results of that trial were based on a lack of evidence.”
Caddo District Attorney James Stewart said he expects to decide next week whether to appeal Hathaway’s ruling.
Miciotto, in a motion arguing against recusal, said the D.A. was trying to intimidate a sitting judge in future cases against police.
“This motion appears to be an improper attempt at an appeal of Judge Victory’s decision in that (police officers) case, or, at the very least, the District Attorney’s Office is using this motion as a public way to voice his displeasure with Judge Victory’s decision,” Miciotto said.
Before issuing his ruling on Thursday, Judge Hathaway heard testimony from an official of the local Fraternal Order of Police, who said Victory was an inactive member. And attorneys also showed there were other judges – among them current Caddo Judges Erin Waddell and Edwin Byrd, a juvenile court judge and an appeals court judge – who have been FOP members, as was D.A. Stewart from 2015-18.
Members of the district attorney’s staff testified about what they described as the rarity of judges issuing directed verdicts of acquittal after the prosecution completes its case and before the defense presents its side, as Victory did.
Thirteen police officers facing criminal charges in Victory’s section of Caddo District Court have opted for a bench trial before him rather than a jury trial.
Caddo Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Chapman is accused of misconduct in the way he treated a 68-year-old who died while in custody. Chapman has pleaded not guilty and opted for a bench trial.
Eight Shreveport police officers awaiting trial on charges of using excessive against two suspects have also opted for a bench trial before Victory.
Earlier this year, four city police officers charged with malfeasance in the death of a suspect during a struggle to arrest him were acquitted in a bench trial before Victory.
Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart
In seeking Victory’s recusal, prosecutors pointed to his associate membership in the FOP, an organization of current and retired law officers that advocates support for officers. Victory joined the FOP during his 2019-20 campaign for judge. Prosecutors said Victory should have disclosed his membership before trial and also questioned whether a large police presence in Victory’s courtroom and the hallway outside it influenced the verdict.
Victory, in a written response filed earlier, categorically denied partiality toward law officers and said the FOP was among several civic organization he joined during his campaign for judge. He said he was unaware how many police officers were outside his courtroom.
“The (FOP) affiliation was so tangential that it never crossed my mind until the (recusal) motion was filed,” Victory said, adding that he had contacted the FOP and told them to remove his affiliation.
Victory said he was concerned about setting a bad precedent if he recused himself from the deputy’s case.
“If my attendance at a few meetings of a law enforcement group during a judicial campaign results in a finding of bias in favor of law enforcement, that would jeopardize my ability to preside over any criminal case,” he said.
In a motion seeking to recuse Victory from presiding over the deputy’s case, Stewart’s office said Victory “is biased, prejudiced and/or personally interested in favor of law enforcement to such an extent that he would be unable to conduct a fair and impartial trial.”
The type of recusal motion filed by prosecutors against a judge is highly unusual in Caddo Parish. Stewart said it was not in retaliation for the judge’s acquittal of the four officers. He said issues of proper police procedures that were major parts of the first trial will be the same in the upcoming trials.
No trial date has been set in the deputy’s criminal case.
