Judge Jessica Recksiedler steps down from George Zimmerman murder case

By: Julia Dahl
Topics: Daily Blotter

Judge Jessica Recksiedler

/ Pool,AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Tom Benitez

(CBS) The Florida judge who had been assigned to preside over George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial announced Wednesday that she would recuse herself from the proceedings.

Pictures: George Zimmerman charged with murder

Circuit Court Judge Jessica Recksiedler issued a statement saying that she would step down from the case. Earlier this week, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, made a motion requesting the judge recuse herself based, in part, on her husband's professional relationship with Mark NeJame, a CNN legal analyst who has publicly commented on the case and was previously approached about representing Zimmerman.

According to a statement released by Florida's Eight Circuit Court, Judge John D. Galluzzo, the next judge in the rotation, has alerted the court to his own conflict on interest in the case. Galluzzo wrote in a Notice of Judicial Conflict that he should not preside over a case involving O'Mara, with whom he has had a personal and business relationship.

This means that Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., will likely preside over the Zimmerman case.

George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26. Zimmerman has said he shot Martin in self-defense. He is currently incarcerated and will appear in court for a bail hearing on Friday.

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on CBS News

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George Zimmerman faces murder charges

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by OweninNJ April 19, 2012 8:24 AM EDT: I wouldn't want to be the judge presiding on this particular case. Too many crazies from all sides have harpooned the story line. She was smart to recuse.; Reply to this comment


by ugacrew April 19, 2012 6:53 AM EDT: Sadly, this case reminds me of the Natalie Halloway case. The perpetrator has a father, a retired judge, who apparently has used his power and influence and connections to get rid of all of the evidence that would be used to convict his son of a crime that his son may have actually committed. I hope a thorough investigation of this case as well as all of those resulting in convictions is conducted. Who knows how many innocent people have been incarcerated or even put to death because of that judge and the hateful Sanford police department.; Reply to this comment


by longtree-2009 April 19, 2012 6:49 AM EDT: wonder what the combined income is of the judge and her husband? bet it's in the high six figures, easily. kind of like the wealthy over seeing the justice on the poor. there is a ton of speculation about the shooting, too much to be able to filter out facts relevant to the case. waiting for trial and results.; Reply to this comment

by markenriquez71 April 18, 2012 10:54 PM EDT

IDIOT is what you truly are if you think Zimmerflop should walk. A POLICE OFFICER would be in some major hot water if he shot an UNARMED teen nevermind this Zimmerclown. HE'S JUST A WANNABE WHATEVER calling 911 41 times what a mental case with no life he surely is.

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by SlimeDogMillionnaire April 19, 2012 1:08 AM EDT: I know of a police officer who DID shoot an unarmed man. It was a traffic stop in the early 1990's in a southern Indiana town. Routine traffic stop, until the police officer ran the guys ID. His drivers license had been revoked, and he was wanted on several minor warrants. He was very cooperative until the cuffs were being put on, then became violent. Int he scuffle that ensued, there was a struggle for the gun. The police officer pulled the trigger, and killed the man. Officers arriving on the scene confiscated the officer's weapon and provided him immediately with another one. The officer was not arrested (despite the fact that the man he shot was unarmed). A grand jury was convened and determined the police officer used justifiable deadly force.

Being armed or not is not the litmus test of whether your actions reasonably place another person in fear of serious bodily injury or death. The evidence shows that Trayvon Martin was beating on George Zimmerman. He was doing it for some time, and continued to do so despite an eyewitness telling him to stop.

He could have called 911 a thousand times in the past. He could have wanted to be an astronaut who was building his own spacecraft in his backyard. It's irrelevant. What is relevant is the evidence of what occurred that night.

Fact: Zimmerman sustained injuries to his nose and head
Fact: The distance from where Martin began running to his father's fiancee's residence is 540 feet
Fact: A slow walk will cover that distance in about 1 minute, 48 seconds.
Fact: 4 minutes and 38 seconds after he took off running, Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman, only 250 feet from where Martin started running, and 300 feet north of Martin's supposed destination.
Fact: George Zimmerman was legally authorized to be carrying a concealed weapon
Fact: The only eyewitness who has yet come forward (John) has stated to police and the media that he saw Martin beating Zimmerman and that Zimmerman was crying for help.
Fact: The 911 callers who were on the phone the night of the shooting did not see anything that could identify who was whom.
Fact: Zimmerman consented to several hours of police questioning without invoking his right to have a lawyer present. Police indicate his story remained consistent throughout - and matched the physical evidence and interviews at the scene.
Fact: Zimmerman made no mention of race to the dispatcher until asked to, and was not even certain at first. After Martin began walking toward Zimmerman, Zimmerman confirmed the race to the dispatcher.


by reality_sanity April 19, 2012 7:44 AM EDT: Slimedog -- If the forensics tests on the 911 prove George lied about calling for help, the entire remainder of his testimony will probably be considered discredited by the jury. In addition, when the witness to the middle of the scuffle testifies we will for the first time know without question what he claimed to see. If it was George ON TOP then George's testimony is further discredited. That makes about every one of your stated facts worthless. More lies -- the entire duration of George's and Trayvon's phone calls were 40 minutes each -- George's starting and ending a minute before Trayvon's. Trayvon was not reported as running or walking away quickly until well into George's 911 call there was not 4 plus minutes for Trayvon to be running unless he was running before he had the discussion with his girl friend and decided to evade George. George is overjoyed YOU ARE NOT his defense attorney spouting lies that can be disproven based on already released audio of 911 calls. Lastly this exhaustive police investigation did not determine Trayvon was talking with his girl friend at the time for almost two weeks -- experienced police investigators in both Boca Raton and Texas indicate this prevented a proper interrogation of George the night of the offense due to the failure to gather testimony of all that witnessed portions of the event. It will be interesting to find out how many additional witnesses appear at trial that were not identified by police prior to releasing George.


by reality_sanity April 19, 2012 7:45 AM EDT: Sorry that should have been 4 minutes and not 40.

by smittyc April 18, 2012 6:41 PM EDT

Not surprising.

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by Cheffo123 April 18, 2012 10:49 PM EDT: You have the right to your opinion. But so what that he was unarmed? How many pistol duels do you see? I would guess that a great deal of legitimate self-defense shootings were against someone an unarmed person. Trayvon was a big 17 year old. He could easily beat someone to death. People have been killed with one punch of kick to the head.


by alberewa April 18, 2012 6:11 PM EDT: Whatever it takes to ensure Zimmerman a fair trial before a judge and a jury of his peers, I'm all for it. In the end, I pray that he will be convicted for killing an unarmed human being because of his prejudgment.; Reply to this comment

by Rafterman11 April 18, 2012 5:39 PM EDT

...and no one here noticed that she's pretty hot for a judge? Just me and no one else? Really?

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by JustSayIt April 18, 2012 7:44 PM EDT: I beat you to it by 8 minutes rafter man. Totally hot.


by democracy8 April 18, 2012 8:39 PM EDT: Hell, I look better than she does...


by rwsmith29456 April 19, 2012 12:11 AM EDT: Now that you mention it I've never seen a judge like her.


by JustSayIt April 18, 2012 5:31 PM EDT: Ok, I'll just go ahead and say it, the judge in the picture is HOT! Judge Jessica knows how to wear a justice cape...well!
That is all.; Reply to this comment


by karlejohn April 18, 2012 4:56 PM EDT: This case is about Justice! The whole world is looking at the American Justice System. An American child has been murdered, and we have some to call it a circus. Please? I want Justice to flow down like a mighty river. My pray is to the God of Abraham, that justice will prevail in this Flordia town of Sanford.; Reply to this comment


by tij123 April 18, 2012 4:50 PM EDT: PHOTOS OF TRAYVON, 9 days before he died. He was shot 21 days after his 17th birthday.

Search Google for "Final Memories: Trayvon Martin 9 Days Before His Death (PHOTO) Posted April 14, 2012 by Amir Rowe"

The thug pictures of Trayvon (teeth grill, etc.) that you see circulating on the Net by White Supremacists are fake. Trayvon does NOT have HUGE puffy lips when he smiles with his teeth showing.; Reply to this comment