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.

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.