Judge Quits Scientology Case Again - 1980-10-16
Judge Quits Scientology Case Again October 16, 1980,
U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Richey yesterday voluntarily removed himself for the second time from a case involving the Church of Scientology, citing "gross and vicious, irrelevant and unwarranted assults" against him in the press, which he said were directed by members of the church.
Richey's statement, included in a written memorandum released yesterday, was the first time that the judge has publicly responded to a series of allegations by the church and their lawyers about Richey's conduct during an earlier Scientology case. In one report, columnist Jack Anderson wrote that Scientologists had information that a prostitute alleged that Richey invited her to his hotel room in Los Angeles. p
Last July, Richey removed himself from the earlier criminal case, which involved two high-ranking church members, saying he had been subjected to "groundless and relentless attacks" by church members. In that decision, Richey denied charges that he was biased against the church, but said he was obliged to leave the case, which he contended had turned into "a trial of the judge."