Supreme Court ends Charleston church shooter’s bid to disqualify trial judge

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the Charleston church massacre shooter’s attempt to disqualify his trial judge from further proceedings over claims that he failed to remain impartial.

The high court’s decision leaves intact an appeals court ruling that found no basis to remove U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel from the death-penalty case against convicted shooter Dylann Roof.

Roof, now 32, was convicted of federal hate crime and related charges for opening fire on a group of parishioners who were gathered for Bible study at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., in May 2015. Nine people were killed. Five people survived the attack.

The self-proclaimed white supremacist was sentenced to death in 2017 for the massacre, which he confessed was intended to spark a race war.

Roof, who represented himself in the sentencing phase, has mounted multiple unsuccessful attempts to overturn his conviction and get a new trial in the decade since. The Supreme Court had already denied taking up his appeal once , in 2022.

The new challenge focused on the ongoing post-conviction proceedings, which Roof’s lawyers argued Gergel should be removed from due to a “constitutionally unacceptable appearance of bias” in the matter. The allegation stems from a conversation in which lawyers say Gergel expressed a desire to handle the trial.

“In granting the petition, this Court will not disturb the underlying convictions or sentence, but rather ensure confidence in our judiciary and the resolution of the claims in this case with no appearance of partiality,” Roof’s lawyers wrote in its petition. “A case like this one, which remains under scrutiny of the victims and the public, demands no less.”

The judicial bias issue was raised with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held last year that Roof had not shown a “clear and indisputable right to recusal” after finding his allegations that Gergel wanted the case from the beginning were insufficient and based on hearsay.

The Trump administration had urged the Supreme Court not to get involved again, writing that the appeals court’s order did not warrant further review.

Roof is housed in a high-security prison in Terre Haute, Ind. He was one of three federal death-row inmates whose sentence was not commuted to life in prison by former President Joe Biden on his way out of office.