Mail-Bomb Case Defense Seeks Special Judge

A man charged in mail bombings that killed a federal judge and a lawyer refused Thursday to enter a plea, pending his attempt to bar any federal judge from hearing the case.

In a hearing before a federal magistrate, lawyers for Walter Leroy Moody Jr. said the fact that a federal judge was one of the victims damages the impartiality of all federal judges.

Moody’s attorneys requested in a court motion that the Senate Judiciary Committee appoint an independent officer to hear the case.

U.S. Magistrate William Harper referred the case to U.S. District Judge Richard Freeman for trial. No hearing was scheduled on the motion. An innocent plea was automatically entered for Moody because of his refusal to enter a plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Atty. Howard Shapiro would not comment on the motion, which said every federal judge in the country has altered working habits and lifestyles because of the mail bombings last year.

A federal indictment issued Wednesday includes a murder charge against Moody in the slaying of Judge Robert S. Vance in Alabama and explosives charges related to the death of Georgia civil rights lawyer Robert E. Robinson.

Alabama officials said that Moody, 56, also may face state murder charges in the slaying of Vance, a member of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Authorities in Georgia said they have not seen enough of the evidence, most of it developed by federal authorities, to decide whether to press state charges against him in the death of Robinson in Savannah.

The murder charge in the 70-count indictment carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. No murder charge was included for Robinson’s death. Moody was charged with transporting explosive material with intent to kill in that death.

Moody also is charged with a variety of other offenses related to the bombings.