When the Appearance of Bias Cost a Federal Judge His Job

Relevant to the matter of Judge Aileen Cannon and Trump's Trial

As a still-cub reporter in 1977, I broke an exclusive story about the appearance of anti-integration bias of the federal judge presiding over a critical Houston school desegregation case. Just a few months after my story appeared, the judge was forced into retirement and another judge took over the case. The incident should be of interest to those wondering with federal Judge Aileen Cannon will remain on the bench for the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump.

Judge James Noel was the judge in the Houston Independent School District’s lawsuit against the proposed “Westheimer Independent School District.” WISD, located in a very affluent area “outside the loop” as they say, would have been all-white. It was first proposed after the Houston schools were desegregated by federal court order in 1970.

To give you an idea of the real motivation behind WISD, its chief advocate once said the district would keep the same schools, the same teachers and the same curricula. “If you’re just going to be HISD under another name, why do it?” I asked him. “Esprit de corps,” he answered, barely bothering to disguise the real reason: white flight from desegregated schools.

Judge Noel had issued a series of rulings against the Houston school district, and it looked like WISD would win the lawsuit. Then, in early 1977, I discovered that Noel had transferred two of his sons out of HISD soon after the district was forced to integrate. The story was picked up by Texas Monthly. The rest is history, as they say. A couple of months later, Noel retired, another judge took over the case. HISD eventually prevailed. WISD disappeared into history.

The appearance of bias had cost Noel the bench. His sudden retirement was covered by the press, as were the accusations of bias. However, given the heat around the issue at hand, it all happened rather quietly. He was already on senior status, and he retired without much noise. In a sense, Noel was allowed to save a little face and the federal judiciary avoided embarrassment.

That brings me to Judge Aileen Cannon. Cannon was widely condemned for what was seen as her bias for Trump, who appointed her, in a matter involving the federal government’s search warrant for Mar-a-Lago. I think it’s fair to say her very public bias puts Judge Noel’s appearance of bias in the shade.

It is very likely that the federal judiciary, from the U.S. Supreme Court on down, would like to avoid more

embarrassment given its tumbling reputation. Judge Cannon might also want to avoid the scrutiny that will come her way if she presides over Trump’s trial. Something like the “Judge Noel Solution” could be in the works. She won’t retire, of course. She could just quietly hand off the case citing her workload or something. Her seniors in the judiciary would breathe a sigh of relief. Her life would be less miserable.

This is just a guess. As I tried to think through likely outcomes, though, the Judge Noel matter came to mind. We’ll see.

I’ve consciously tried to avoid too much political commentary at “Billion Worlds,” but I thought this was interesting to think about.