Published on: Thursday, October 14, 2021

A Dallas judge is recommending a new trial for a Jewish death row inmate after finding the judge who presided over his trial used offensive terms to describe Jewish people and the inmate in particular (article available here).

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had stayed Halprin’s execution in October 2019 and ordered a new judge to make findings and recommendations regarding Halprin’s claim of judicial bias.

In her Oct. 11 findings, the new judge said Halprin’s trial judge, Vickers “Vic” Cunningham, harbored a bias against Halprin because he is Jewish, violating his due-process right to a fair trial, his First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion, and his 14th Amendment right to equal protection.

The court found that “inbred bias was thoroughly situated into the conscious mind of Judge Cunningham and it is too much to ignore.”

The recommendation paves the way for the state's highest criminal court to decide whether Randy Halprin, who is Jewish, should get another trial.