Lansing Leroy Mitchell (January 17, 1914 – April 24, 2001) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Education and early career

Born in Sun, Louisiana, Mitchell received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University in 1934 and a Bachelor of Laws from the

Paul M. Hebert Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a c ...

at Louisiana State University in 1937. He was in private practice in Ponchatoula, Louisiana from 1937 to 1938. After that, was a special agent for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

from 1938 to 1941. Later he was an attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 1941 to 1942. Following that, he was in the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel from 1942 to 1946. He also was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

of the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1946 to 1953. Eventually he was in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1953 to 1966.

Controversy

In the late 1960s, H. Rap Brown, The former head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Was convicted of a firearms violation. After the conviction, a lawyer stepped forward with information suggesting that Judge Mitchell, who presided over the trial, harbored a prejudice against Brown. According to his lawyer, Mitchell had said that he was “going to get that n*gger.” At a post-conviction hearing, a new judge found the lawyer statement to be credible, but decided nonetheless to affirm the conviction and sentence. He ruled that notwithstanding the Mitchell’s unfortunate comment, the defendant had had a fair trial. The court of appeals subsequently reversed his decision and vacated Brown’s conviction. In doing so, it relied on a federal statute that requires the mandatory disqualification of a judge “ in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned or where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning party.” The Court of Appeals emphasize that the trial judge's remark had undercut the appearance of impartiality. It also concluded that it could not suitably determine from Mitchell’s remark whether or not the defendant had received a fair trial. Despite these revelations, Judge Mitchell was not reprimanded or removed from the bench and continued to serve until his death in 2001.

Federal judicial service

Mitchell was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 6, 1966, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, to a new seat created by 80 Stat. 75. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20, 1966, and received his commission on November 3, 1966. He assumed senior status on November 3, 1981. Mitchell served in that capacity until his death on April 24, 2001, in New Orleans.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Lansing Leroy 1914 births 2001 deaths Louisiana State University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson 20th-century American judges United States Army officers Military personnel from Louisiana People from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Assistant United States Attorneys