Not surprising. From the Orlando Sentinel: The Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach on Wednesday ruled
that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. in Sanford went too far when,
among other things, he described Zimmerman as a manipulator.
It was "admittedly a close call," wrote Judge C. Alan Lawson, but
Lester's actions, taken in total, would cause a reasonable person to
fear that he is biased.
The next step is for Circuit Judge Alan
Dickey in Sanford to pick a new judge. It's expected to be Circuit Judge
Debra S. Nelson, 58, another felony trial judge in Sanford who has a
reputation for handing down tough sentences.
She's been a judge
for 13 years, much of it on the criminal bench, although she was a civil
litigation specialist in private practice.
There will be no
appeal, according to Florida's Office of Attorney General, which had
argued in court paperwork that Lester should stay. He was not biased,
wrote Assistant Attorney General Pamela Koller. He had merely given
Zimmerman a "well-deserved tongue lashing."
Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's office, the one in charge of putting Zimmerman on trial, had no comment.
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara
did not immediately return an email from the Orlando Sentinel. On his
law firm's webpage, he wrote that he expects a new judge to be assigned
to the case soon.
Nelson would be Zimmerman's third judge. In
April Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler stepped aside after O'Mara filed
a similar motion. That time, however, it was because Recksiedler's
husband is the law partner of Mark NeJame, an Orlando lawyer who's being paid to do case commentary by CNN. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-29/news/os-george-zimmerman-appeals-ruling-lester-20120829_1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mark-o-mara
This judge was clearly biased in this case and it is not surprising that the Appeals Court removed him from the case.
Now, hopefully, Zimmerman will get a fair trial and the truth will come out. Both Zimmerman and Martin deserve that.
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