Judge Bowen steps down from hearing Walker's appeal

The federal judge who presided over former state Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker's criminal trial recused himself this week from presiding over Mr. Walker's appeal.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge William T. Moore Jr. is now assigned to hear Mr. Walker's habeas petition and determine the legality of his imprisonment.

Mr. Walker was convicted of 127 criminal counts and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005. The crimes included schemes to enrich himself by defrauding advertisers with his newspaper, looting money from the CSRA Classic charity event and deceiving campaign contributors and two public hospitals.

Mr. Walker asked Senior Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. to recuse himself from the appeal. He alleges that his defense attorneys were ineffective because they did not ask Judge Bowen to recuse himself from the trial. Mr. Walker says he warned the attorneys that Judge Bowen could be biased against him because Mr. Walker forcefully opposed Judge Bowen's appointment to the federal judgeship in 1979.

Mr. Walker also sought the recusals of two other federal judges -- Lisa Godbey Wood, who served as the U.S. attorney while Mr. Walker was being prosecuted, and J. Randal Hall, who defeated Mr. Walker for his Senate District 22 seat in 2002.

Mr. Walker, 61, is serving his sentence at the Estill Federal Correctional Institute in South Carolina. He is scheduled for release in September 2014.

Mr. Walker filed the habeas petition in March. The U.S. Attorney's Office has indicated through court documents that the prosecutors will challenge the petition.

With two decades in the state House and Senate, Mr. Walker was one of the most powerful politicians in Georgia before his conviction. While under indictment, he won the 2004 election to regain his Senate seat.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.