judge stephen murphy
© U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan/Handout via REUTERSU.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy of the Eastern District of Michigan appears in an undated handout photo.
A U.S. appeals court has overturned a Black man's drug conviction and 10-1/2 year prison sentence, citing a Detroit judge's "inappropriate remarks" before trial stating that the defendant "looks like a criminal."

The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday removed U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy from Leron Liggins' case, saying the judge should have recused himself after making the "unacceptable remarks" at a pre-trial hearing.

U.S. Circuit Judge Eric Clay, writing for the three-judge panel, said Murphy's "troubling" comments that Liggins "looks like a criminal to me" at a January 30, 2020, pre-trial hearing called into question his partiality.

"We are highly concerned by this remark, especially when directed toward Liggins, an African American man," Clay wrote. "Even if one were to assume a lack of racial bias on the part of the district judge, the remark nevertheless raises the specter of such bias."

Murphy, who is white, had apologized for getting upset at Liggins, saying he made a "mistake" and had "lost my head." But he declined to let the case be re-assigned, saying "just because I got mad does not mean I'm biased."

Clay said that was the wrong call. Allowing Liggins' heroin distribution-related conviction to stand when the judge should have been disqualified "would substantially undermine the public's confidence in the judicial process," he wrote.

Wade Fink, Liggins' attorney, in a statement said the ruling delivered an important message: "No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, victims and defendants alike you should be treated with dignity, respect, and, above all, complete even-handed fairness."

Murphy did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The judge made the remarks at issue while expressing frustration with delays in Liggins' case, which had been pending since 2018.

Liggins had by the time of the January 2020 hearing expressed dissatisfaction with two different court-appointed lawyers and changed his mind about pleading guilty, decisions that delayed any trial.

Murphy at the hearing said he was "tired of this defendant," who was giving him the "runaround." He then questioned Liggins' lawyer at the time.

"What do you want me to do?" Murphy asked. "This guy looks like a criminal to me. This is what criminals do. This isn't what innocent people, who want a fair trial do."

That lawyer was replaced by a third one, who was in turn replaced by a fourth, until Liggins finally went to trial in October 2021. The day before the trial, he moved to recuse Murphy, citing his January 2020 comments, but Murphy denied the request.

Nate Raymond reports on the federal judiciary and litigation. He can be reached at nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com.