By: Rachel Pulaski
In June George Zimmerman’s attorney filed a motion to disqualify Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. for fear that Judge Lester Jr. was incapable of providing a fair and impartial trial. Today, a Florida Appeals Court ruled in favor of that motion.
The Orlando Sentinel reported:
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.
USA Today has more.
Previously
Detective in Zimmerman Case Says He Was Pressured to Press Charges
George Zimmerman Hides Out in Secret Safe House After Receiving Thousands of Death Threats
Confirmed: George Zimmerman Passed Lie Detector Test After Trayvon Shooting
