Judge Robert McBurney
Appearances
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 8. Mommy Di
This trial was a spectacle, and people were interested in it for years. reasons I don't fully understand other than that they were glamorous people who were involved. Here in Fulton County, we handle dozens of murder trials every year, and the tragedy is no smaller. Lives are lost, lives are taken for lust, greed, addiction, anger, pettiness. they deserve attention as well.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 8. Mommy Di
And I think there is some frustration that we are dissecting this case down to the level of what boots did Danny Jo wear when she testified when there are equally tragic murders that an assessment of might lead to more important discussions like why are the murders concentrated in the zip code? And why are many of the murderers people who didn't make it through high school?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 8. Mommy Di
And if we could bend that arc in a different direction, would we see fewer fatalities? As opposed to was the woman who gave Tex massages wearing Diane's rubber boots at the ranch after Diane died. And that generated countless hours of discussion. And I,
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 8. Mommy Di
I appreciate that it's eyeballs and it generates things, but I think it misses some of the deeper issues that beset our county and that I hope we do lots of podcasts about as well.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
In any negotiated plea, the agreement is between the two sides, state and defendant, and however many lawyers are involved. They then present a proposal to the judge who can accept it, reject it, modify it. It may be that a defendant is allowed to withdraw his plea if the judge rejects what has been negotiated. But the important thing to keep in mind is that the agreement is not with the judge.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
It's not binding on the judge. But the judge is limited in knowing whatever is included in that agreement. In terms of keeping members of Diane McGyver's family apprised of how this would unfold, that responsibility falls on the district attorney's office.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
What was relayed to me when this plea was presented was that Mr. MacGyver would be pleading guilty to certain crimes, reduced crimes, and would be agreeing to a certain number of years to serve with credit for time served. But that number was greater than the time he had already served, so he would remain in custody.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
and that there were certain financial resolutions, that the insurance settlement would go one way, and that the residual of Diane MacGyver's estate, which was represented to me to be under $100,000, would also be distributed in a certain way, but because it was so small, it was effectively legal fees. That's what I heard. I heard I was presented with no objections from any family members.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
In fact, I don't know that I was ever introduced ever to a family member. Mr. Corey, I got to know quite well and other members of what I'll call the Corey family. So these would have been work colleagues of Ms. MacGyver. But I don't believe I was ever introduced to a blood relative of Ms. MacGyver.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
If that should have happened, that would have been the state's obligation to say, here's a cousin, here's an uncle, here's a whatever the relationship might be. But I wasn't presented with any of that input at the plea hearing.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
Should a man who pled guilty to taking her life, even though it was through recklessness, through the plea, but a jury found that it was intentional, the shooting was intentional, benefit in any way financially? And that's how I'd cast it more, as benefiting, as opposed to, well, maybe actually some of that money was his. I don't know that he should lose his money.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
I think everyone would agree you shouldn't benefit. You shouldn't be able to write a book or make money off a podcast because you were involved in killing your wife. Right. That's not how this plea was structured as it was presented to me. It was not a financially advantageous plea for Tex MacGyver.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
Hang in there. You got a hearing on the 6th and the 8th.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
Yeah, I have probate here. But you want to make sure it's not the next week, because that's when the boys will be gone with him to Europe.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
I wanted the bond here, are you going to have it today? Yes, sir. Well, I support you a thousand percent, okay?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
Well, hang in there. We'll be there.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
So judges have a responsibility to recuse if they believe that either they would have trouble being impartial or there's a reasonable appearance of partiality. So I might be convinced that I could be perfectly neutral in some civil matter involving my sister. But the appearance would be, look, one of the parties is your sister. How can the other side think they're getting a fair shake?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
So I ought to recuse. I ought not to require one of the lawyers to say, judge, you should step off. It is just as powerful a principle of law that judges should not recuse from situations that don't create that either sense of partiality, I'm gonna have trouble being neutral, or an appearance of partiality.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
And I didn't for a moment feel like I had any difficulty being neutral in this case because the case wasn't State versus Schwall. He wasn't being prosecuted. His child wasn't a victim in the case. The victim in the case was the defendant's wife, who was also a friend of Craig Schwall. Second, when the case was assigned to me, I was unaware of the depth and breadth of the connection.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
I knew that three or four of my colleagues knew Tex, called him friend, had benefited from his influence and maybe getting their judgeship. But that was it. So I was already knee-deep in the case before it came to light that Craig Schwall and his family at one point had been particularly close with the MacGyvers.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
It also came out during the trial that Craig Sr., the judge, wasn't so close by the time the dust settled. So I don't think it's correct to say consistently and universally it's been a close situation. I think that relationship became very different and quite strained after the divorce. And different people lined up behind different schwalls.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
But it's also important to explain that while I didn't see an issue, none of the lawyers involved did either. It would have been perfectly appropriate for any of the many lawyers, for Mr. MacGyver, any of the many prosecutors who would speak with one voice for the state to say, oops, now that we're seeing more of these connections, what I'll call the Schwal family, we think, and it wouldn't be
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
just McBurney. It would be no judge in Fulton County should hear this because we're all colleagues. And so we need to bring in a judge from a different jurisdiction. And that didn't come up. It didn't come up because I didn't flag it because I didn't see it as an issue. It didn't affect my assessment of evidentiary rulings or whatnot or the guilt or innocence of the accused.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
And it didn't rise to any level of concern for the lawyers to say, let's bring in a different judge. And I'll tell you, lawyers are not shy about doing that, especially if they feel like this isn't going well for us with this judge, because clearly his connection with X, Y, or Z. And so we need to get someone else. But it bears repeating, the case was not about the Schwalls.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
Deadly Fortune | 7. Extended Family
It was, did Tex MacGyver, he admitted he shot his wife. Did he intentionally shoot his wife? And in the orbit of that was, look at all this money and where's the money going? And maybe the money's not going to Tex. And so that's a motive for him to shoot his wife. It's really the Schwall connection to the first trial.