Nichols Accuses Judge of ‘Personal Bias’ : Courts: Oklahoma City suspect alleges jurist was affected through blast’s impact on courthouse workers. His claim goes beyond McVeigh’s position.

OKLAHOMA CITY —  Oklahoma City bombing defendant Terry L. Nichols said Wednesday that the federal judge assigned to preside over his trial has an “actual, personal bias against me” and should be removed from the case because of his extensive contact with victims of the explosion.

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court here, Nichols also embraced the position of attorneys for co-defendant Timothy J. McVeigh that the trial should be moved because of the heavy damage to the federal courthouse caused by the bombing of the nearby Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

But while the McVeigh allegations focused on the courthouse damage, the Nichols affidavit goes a step further. The 40-year-old Nichols argued that U.S. District Judge Wayne E. Alley has had an “extrajudicial exposure” to victims of the bombing because so many courthouse employees were related to or friends of many of the 168 killed and hundreds injured in the April 19 blast.

The Nichols affidavit is in his own words, in contrast to the McVeigh court motion filed Tuesday, which was prepared by McVeigh’s attorneys.

Alley, a former Army brigadier general appointed to the bench 10 years ago by President Ronald Reagan, has sharply denied any prejudice. In his own court filing, he has maintained that he can provide a “fair and objective” trial.

Nichols offered a number of reasons why he believes that Alley cannot ensure him a fair trial.

“Because of the damage to Judge Alley’s chambers and to his courtroom, he was directly affected by the bombing,” Nichols said.

He also cited other courthouse employees--such as Robert Dennis, the clerk of the court, who was in the Murrah building at the time of the bombing--who were victims of the blast, who are “likely to have experienced, and to continue to suffer, emotional trauma.”

Nichols said repair work for Alley’s courtroom “requires discussion and negotiation” by the judge and his staff with Dennis and Don Rogers, the local head of the General Services Administration, “both of whom were in the Murrah building at the time of the bombing.”

Pointing out that at least one of the judge’s staff members was injured, Nichols said: “Through his regular communication with this staff member, Judge Alley is in repeated contact with a victim of the bombing.”

He also said there are “numerous individuals working in the federal courthouse who were injured, traumatized or have family and friends who were injured, killed or traumatized.”

“Any contact by Judge Alley with courthouse staff is an extra-judicial source of exposure to victims of the bombing and to material evidence in this litigation.”

“I request,” Nichols added, “that Judge Alley recuse himself from presiding in this case because of actual, personal bias against me obtained by him in an extrajudicial capacity.”

In other developments Wednesday, a federal judge in Washington ruled that a hearing should be conducted in Oklahoma City to determine whether Nichols should be allowed to have a prison “contact visit” with his wife, Marife, and lawyers before she returns to the Philippines this weekend.