Defense raises possibility of judge bias in surgeon rape case

Attorneys for the Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend accused of serially drugging and raping several women in the doctor’s seaside home are arguing for the judge assigned to the case to step aside because of a possible bias toward an alleged victim’s attorney.

The motion to disqualify Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones from the case against Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley came the morning of a scheduled hearing Friday to determine if the O.C. district attorney’s office would continue to prosecute the case in light of D.A. Todd Spitzer’s unsuccessful attempt to have Jones drop all charges against the pair for insufficient evidence. The state attorney general’s office could take the case instead.

The allegation of judicial bias stems from a closed-door meeting between Jones and Matt Murphy, a former deputy district attorney and current victims’ rights lawyer, the day before the February dismissal hearing.

Noting Jones’ own observations of politics “infecting” the case, which became a flash point in the pitched election battle between Spitzer and predecessor Tony Rackauckas, the attorneys said proceedings must be “transparent, unbiased and neutral.”

“In many ways, the appearance of justice is no less critical to the public’s trust in the judicial system than justice itself,” wrote attorneys Philip Kent Cohen, Scott Borthwick and Shawn Holley. “In this case, that trust has been eroded based upon the actual bias and the appearance of such bias that exists between this court and an attorney for a number of the alleged charged and uncharged victims in this case, Matt Murphy.”

Murphy told the Orange County Register Friday that he was legally required to meet privately with Jones because the bid by Spitzer’s office to “advance the hearing without providing notice to the victims created an ethical dilemma concerning my representation of one of my clients.” He denied any wrongdoing.

Jones said from the bench Friday that he needed time to respond to the defense team’s motion and rescheduled the hearing for June 19.

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