Court Methods Altered for Clinton Allies

WASHINGTON — The chief judge of the U.S. District Court bypassed the traditional random assignment system to send criminal cases against presidential friends Webster L. Hubbell and Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie to judges appointed by President Clinton, according to court officials.

U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson’s decision to abandon the longtime random computer assignment for the high-profile cases has raised concerns among several other judges, according to Associated Press interviews with them.

The judges also raise concerns about an appearance of possible conflicts of interest because judges who got the cases were friendly with key players--presidential confidant Vernon E. Jordan Jr. and defense lawyer Reid Weingarten--and made rulings that handicapped prosecutors.

Half a dozen judges, Republicans as well as Democrats, said they have high regard for the ethics and work of the two judges involved, Paul L. Friedman and James Robertson, and do not believe they were improperly influenced.

But the judges, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they have discussed among themselves the public perception of ignoring the random draw--which is used in almost all cases--and passing over more experienced judges appointed by presidents of both parties.

Johnson, Friedman and Robertson all declined repeated requests for interviews.

The airing of the behind-the-scenes controversy provides a rare window into a court process sealed from public view.

Johnson, an appointee of President Carter, assigned:

* Friedman the Trie case, the first major prosecution from the Justice Department investigation of Democratic fund-raising. Clinton nominated Friedman, a former president of the local bar, in 1994.

* Robertson the Hubbell tax case, Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s first prosecution in Washington. Robertson is an ex-president of the local bar and a former partner at the law firm of former White House counsel Lloyd N. Cutler.

Robertson was nominated by Clinton in the last days of Cutler’s tenure as counsel in 1994. Robertson donated $1,000 to Clinton’s 1992 presidential bid and has said he “worked on the periphery” of that campaign.

When Johnson bypassed the random draw for these cases, there were 12 full-time judges on the federal court, seven of them Clinton appointees. Four were Republican appointees. The court also has a number of senior judges who work part-time.

Local court rules give Johnson the right to assign “protracted” cases to specific judges, although nearly all the cases in U.S. District Court here are assigned by lottery, court officials said.

Johnson garnered headlines for her rulings against Clinton in the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, rejecting privilege claims by the president and ordering White House lawyer Bruce Lindsey and Secret Service personnel to testify.

Robertson dismissed the tax case against Hubbell, who eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor when an appeals court reinstated the case. Johnson allowed a later indictment--charging Hubbell with lying to federal regulators--to be assigned at random by computer.

One politically sensitive aspect of the Hubbell tax evasion indictment was a reference to a $62,500 consulting arrangement that Jordan helped obtain for Hubbell, making Jordan a potential witness. Robertson and Jordan are friends from their days in the civil rights movement.

Johnson assigned the Trie case and two subsequent cases against Democratic fund-raisers to Friedman, who tossed out various charges. After one of Friedman’s rulings was overturned on appeal, Trie agreed to plead guilty.