Evidence of Corrupt Judge’s Actual Bias Not Needed for Relief

A man convicted of kidnapping and murder in Illinois is entitled to habeas relief without needing to prove that a state judge who took bribes from other defendants was actually biased against him, the Seventh Circuit said Monday.

Robert Gacho spent more than three decades seeking relief after his conviction in a trial presided over by a judge who took bribes for acquittals and deflected suspicion by being even harsher on defendants who didn’t pay up. The scheme deprived Gacho ...