A Florida judge has announced that she would no longer preside over the George Zimmerman criminal case. Judge Jessica Recksiedler approved a motion today to disqualify herself from the case after revealing her husband’s ties to a CNN analyst.
Zimmerman’s defense asked Monday that the Seminole Circuit judge be removed in order to give the defendant a fair trial.
Recksiedler said in a statement that the findings on each basis were “legally insufficient” for disqualification but decided that “the cumulative effect of the events and the totality of the circumstances provides a legally sufficient basis for this court to grant the motion to disqualify.”
Recksiedler will be replaced by Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., who’s served on the bench 15 years.
Judge Lester was not the next judge in line to take the case, the case would have been assigned to Circuit Judge John Galluzzo, but he declined citing a previous history practicing law with Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara. O’Mara is also the godfather of one of Judge Galluzzo’s children.
George Zimmerman will be arraigned May 29 for the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old black boy.
He is facing second-degree murder charges.
