Judge in Henley Case Disqualifies Himself

U.S. Dist. Judge Gary L. Taylor, allegedly targeted for assassination by a former professional football player convicted in his court of cocaine trafficking, has disqualified himself from the case.

Taylor said new allegations that former Ram cornerback Darryl Henley had arranged to kill him would raise questions about the fairness of the judge’s rulings.

On Monday, Henley pleaded not guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to charges that he offered an undercover agent $200,000 to kill Taylor and Tracy Donaho, an ex-Ram cheerleader who testified against the athlete at his 1995 trial. The 13-count indictment also alleges that Henley used a cellular phone in his jail cell to arrange a $1-million heroin deal.

Rodney Anderson, a federal prison guard who allegedly supplied Henley with the phone, also pleaded not guilty at a brief arraignment hearing before U.S. Dist. Judge James M. Ideman.

Taylor’s decision to disqualify himself means that a new judge will have to decide if Henley gets a new trial and, if he doesn’t, how much time the athlete should spend in prison.

Henley and four defendants were convicted in March 1995. They later filed a motion for a new trial, claiming that jurors expressed racial prejudice and that one juror even offered to vote not guilty for Henley in return for a $50,000 bribe.

However, prosecutors contend that Henley was behind the scheme to bribe the juror and therefore should be denied a new trial.

Taylor did not remove himself from ruling on matters involving Henley’s co-defendants.

William Kopeny, a Santa Ana lawyer who represents Henley in the motion for a new trial, called the judge’s decision “a very generous step.

“It is never wrong for a judge to say that ‘the appearance of justice would be better served if I stepped aside,’ even if there is no serious doubt that the judge could be fair.”

Assistant U.S. Atty. John C. Rayburn Jr., one of the prosecutors in the cocaine-trafficking trial, said: “We have a great deal of respect for Judge Taylor’s ability to properly analyze the situation. We believe he has and will continued to adjudicate these issues.”

Also contributing to this story were Times staff writers Rene Lynch and Tracy Weber.

* PARENTS’ FAITH

A devastated Tom and Dorothy Henley support their son. C1