Judge Removed in Zimmerman case

It is very unusual for a judge to be removed from a case in this way.  I had thought Judge Lester was behaving improperly, but it is nice to have this decided.

A Florida appeals court today ordered Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. to disqualify himself in George Zimmerman's trial for the alleged murder of Trayvon Martin. 

The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona, Fla., voted 2-1 that Lester should be disqualified. Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, had appealed to the court in early July for Lester to be removed. 

His motion to disqualify the judge came in response to Lester's order setting Zimmerman's bail at $1 million. In it Lester wrote that Zimmerman had "flaunted the system" and practiced "deception upon the court" after it was revealed that Zimmerman and his wife Shellie had not told the court he had two passports and tried to hide the amount of money their defense fund had raised. record. They were also accused of speaking in code in reference to their assets. 

In a 17-page document O'Mara accused Lester of having a bias against Zimmerman, writing that "the court made gratuitous, disparaging remarks about Mr. Zimmerman's character, advocated for Mr. Zimmerman to be prosecuted for additional crimes; offers a personal opinion about the evidence for said prosecution; and continues to hold over Mr. Zimmerman's head the threat of future contempt proceedings." . . .