MISSING
MISSING - Lauren Spierer
Sierra LaMar
MISSING - Tiffany Sessions
MISSING - Michelle Parker
MISSING - Tracie Ocasio
MISSING - Jennifer Kesse
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 8:54AM “The Defendant’s Verified Motion to Disqualify Trial Judge is hereby denied as legally insufficient.”
There you have it, folks. This is one time when George Zimmerman will not get his way.
(I’ve got a doctor appointment this morning. This just came over the wire and I had to put it up.)
LEGAL NOTICE
©David B. Knechel. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this site can be reproduced in it's entirety or in part without expressed written permission by the owner/administrator of this site in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Section 512(c)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3). The charges against defendants are mere accusations and the subjects are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
Reader Comments (50)
Looks like Dave won this round Snoops. I'm glad Judge Lester has refused George's request.. Perhaps GZ will finally begin to understand the gravity of the situation he has placed himself in. Now we need to wait and see if there is an appeal. In the meantime, I'm sure a new plea for $$$ is forthcoming
That was super-fast Dave, I just heard this on InSession. I'm wainting to see his decision posted to see if he just wrote what you said, or if he had more to say.
[Yes it was, ritanita. I had to rush to get it up, too, because I was just about out the door.]
Good. Good. No Judge Eaton for Georgie boy.
WKMG (Click Orlando) - Judge to stay on in George Zimmerman case
This might be all we will hear from Judge Lester about it:
Order | Dated August 1, 2012
Quote: The court is not permitted to deny the allegations supporting the motion as untrue, reject them as unfounded, or comment upon them at all. To do so establishes independent grounds for disqualification. End Quote
Dave: Very interesting footnote contained in Judge Lester's order:
Quote: Although this Court is treating this as a first motion, it is unclear if it actually qualifies as such. The Defendant moved to recuse Judge Recksiedler on the basis of Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(d)(2), which mandates recusal when a judge is related to an interested party. Judge Recksiedler found that she did not have an interest that could be substantially affected, nor was there any allegation that she was or would be exposed to extra-judicial information through her husband’s employment. She therefore found that these assertions were legally insufficient. Defendant also argued language associated with Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(d)(1). However, in an abundance of caution and based on the “totality of the circumstances,” she recused herself. This would indicate that her recusal was, in fact, based upon Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(d)(1), making this a successive motion under subsection (g) of that rule. Should that be determined, this court is prepared to rule on the truth of the facts alleged in support of the motion. However, without further guidance by a higher court, this Court will treat this motion as an initial motion. End Quote
[Precautionary. It also serves as a warning, of sorts.]
Dave~~good going sir!! You called it right and I commend you for sticking to your guns. So Richard Hornsby was wrong in his interpretations. Guess I will just stick with you, Dave. Hang onto those law books.
You may have won this round but the game is far from over...* said with tongue in cheek. lol
[Thanks, Snoopy. I firmly believe the judge made the right call.]
Dave~~be sure and read what Nan11 just posted... so there is a bit of confusion. Ahum or is that Ahem?
[Oh... I will be explaining that paragraph. I know exactly what it means.]
I'm linking this because of Mr. Sheaffer's comment. I do hope he is wrong, even though I don't expect that he is.
What with the new defense motion filed yesterday to allow Georgie to leave the state--it would be a good time for a looong delay. No?
WFTV - Judge denies motion to recuse self in Zimmerman case
Quote: "I would expect, after 35 years, I have not seen one occasion where this motion to recuse has been filed, denied, and the defense not filed an appeal and not request the proceedings be stayed. If they're stayed, this could further delay the Zimmerman case," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
O'Mara said they are working on an appropriate response to the judge's order, but they are expected to appeal to the Fifth District Court of Appeals. End Quote
[I have my own thoughts on that and I don't necessarily agree with Bill on this one.]
Nan11~~I really appreciate you keeping on top of things today. I am not surprised at what Bill Sheaffer said. I think this case is going to be a long drawn out affair and a trial could be years in the offing. When anything goes before the appeals court, you can look at least a year before a decision is made.
It will be interesting to see how Judge Lester rules on the case of the woman shooting her ex while he was raping her. That case is being heard today.
Dave: I know you have already seen both of the following links, (probably at least 100 times.) However, I thought if anyone was looking for them--having them hear might save some time.
The first link is to Mr. O'Mara's motion to disqualify Judge Recksiedler. The second one is her order in response.
Defendant’s Verified Motion To Disqualify Trial Judge | Dated April 16, 2012
Order Granting Defendant’s Verified Motion To Disqualify Trial Judge | Dated April 18. 2012
Snoops: Another interesting similarity between the two cases, iirc, is the angle of the shot.
This isn't anything different than what Mr. Sheaffer said--it's just Mr. O'Mara saying it in his own words.
I noticed that the motion that Mr. O'Mara was 'preparing' yesterday requesting that George be allowed to leave Seminole County has not been filed. Maybe they decided to put that on hold for a while--while they prepare their appeal on the judge's recusal. {sigh}
WKMG (Click Orlando) – Judge to stay on in George Zimmerman case
Quote: ”We presented the motion. I think the motion was sufficient on its face. He made his decision. We’re going to review it and make a determination about whether or not to appeal it or accept it, O’Mara said.
If an appeal is filed, he said, the case “stays in limbo, unfortunately, for a while. We will be seeking a stay of all other matters pending until the appellate court decides, if we decide to appeal." End Quote
I am on my iPad. My computer is no longer under my control. A Geek Squad agent has been diagnosing it and it may take the rest of the night. I don't know. Meanwhile, the iPad is not good at responding inside comments. I will say I am consulting with a couple of attorneys about the next step, which I will write about in a new post. Judge Lester's footnote is of special interest, but I must also remain with the GS agent to assist when I can.
It has been some time since i last posted and obviously more post's were added in my absence and although I should read them all i feel that as soon as i catch-up i'll be beihnd once again but I found it interesting that the Defense argued stating that the Judge would not allow, or Zimmerman couldn't get a fair trial under his dome i guess i should say, but in the end somehow Zimmerman thought he was being treated unfairly? Exactly what was his angle...was the judge being dishonest or drawing attention to the notion that while in court you have to tell the truth....go figure...truth and justice together in one place....
As Dave has pointed out Zimmerman comes off as more of a whinner and what I deeme him to be is a poser. Someone who pretends at a public level and view. Braging about the senseless death of another person is enough to me to show malice but potato patatoe...
Dave, I can't stop laughing. I think I have been in your shoes and know the feeling, [more than once.] ; - )
BMan: Yep, Georgie nose has been out of place since the (2nd) judge revoked his first bond.
Then the (2nd) judge went on to write a somewhat brilliant motion (imo)--setting the new bond at $1,000,000.00; and taking the opportunity to explain how Georgie had been "flouting" and "manipulating" the system.
Spoiled, privileged Georgie was not amused--actually he never was very happy with Judge Lester (2nd judge.) In one of his phone conversations with the wifey he expressed hope that perhaps he would snag Judge Eaton upon recusal of Judge Recksiedler, (1st judge.) So...
We are probably no further ahead even after Judge Lester denied the defense motion to recuse--as it now looks like the defense (lead by Georgie), will appeal the judge's decision. And that appeal will have to go to the appellate court, and will cause a lengthy delay.
But will most likely still stand. (moo)
Well, WESH has their video up now to go with their earlier write-up. Bob Kealing got a few statements from O'Mara, so it's pretty good.
Things are 'holding' for now--but we can look for some decision by the end of this week.
WESH | VIDEO| Bob Kealing Reports - Judge Dismisses Zimmerman’s recusal request
Quote: Mark O’Mara: He is concerned—which is why he filed the verified motion—that he believed that the order evidences that Judge Lester is being, would be unfair. To his—and he still has that belief. End Quote
I don't live in Seminole County, but it seems to me that George is full of baloney with his claim that he needs to locate outside of the county for his safety. I think his paranoia is showing again, as it does not appear too many people are overly interested in his whereabouts. Obviously, he has found someone outside of the jurisdiction willing to house him and Shellie rent free. Probably the same place he was living before.
George needs to ask one of his local supporters to give him a job and start making a living again. After all, it could be months if not years before this case sees a courtroom. In the meantime, he and his wife need to go back to work like most other people awaiting trial. With his fondness for the Internet and phone use, he could easily work from home. If Shellie is given probation, one of the terms of probation is almost always gainful employment. No time like the present to get started.
And, I'm still proud of Judge Lester for refusing to recuse himself from this case.
Dave~~here is the SYG case that Judge Lester started to hear today. It will be interesting to see how he rules.
Stand Your Ground hearing held for woman accused of killing husband
Dave~~Things are going to be very slow regarding the Zimmerman case. If O'Mara files an appeal re Judge Lester's decision, the case will go into limbo for a long time.
This is really all your fault for putting in a link to Judge Alan Dickey. I want to know more about how much power should a judge be granted. Who steps in to reprimand and remove a corrupt judge? In all professions, you have your bad eggs and judges are not exempt.
Is this Judge Dickey still on the bench? I have plenty of room in my 'old farts bag' for another one but will give him the benefit of the doubt first.
Snoopy, it's hard to form an opinion about Judge Dickey without first knowing all of the facts about the civil case. Was this individual off on vacation while using his doctor's note as an excuse to miss the hearing? Was his health such that he was unable to leave his home all together? Did he notify the Court in advance that he would not attend the hearing due to his health? Is this a frivolous case or does it have merit? Had this individual missed any prior hearings or depositions? Was there a criminal case involving this person as well?
Granted, sentencing an individual to six months in jail for failure to appear does seem harsh, but the article linked above does not provide any real history regarding the case other than the fact that it was a civil case.
I read the article again. This person missed court due to a doctor appointment. When was this appointment scheduled and what was the medical issue? One would think if this was a nonemergency medical issue, the appointment could have been scheduled at a time that did not conflict with a court appearance. I would assume that the issue was not terminal or an emergency or the judge would most likely not throw him in jail.
It just seems to me that there is more to this story than revealed in the article.
Sempre~~I reread the article because I wanted to find out why the man had to appear in court in the first place. Was this his first offense or what was his history. You never know why someone writes these articles and leaves so much to one's imagination. Do they have an axe to grind and/or is politics involved? Judge Dickey has been on the bench for 35 years. Now if I learned that the man was having a little hanky panky with the judges wife or the man's wife was fooling around with said Dickey....lol, we may have a case here. I did learn the following .... for future reference...
Any sentence exceeding six months requires a jury trial in Florida. Does this mean that a judge cannot sentence anyone to more than six months? I expect that to mean a civil trial. How about passing out a big fine, is there a limit on that too?
Hope this is not too off topic, but Snoopy peeked my curiosity and I found the name of the incarcerated person Mark Adamczyk. This person has also sued Judge Dickey in Federal Court.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28169521/Mark-Adamczyk-sues-Jack-Hutchings-his-attorney-David-H-Simmons-and-Fifteen-other-Defendants-in-a-Federal-Lawsuit
Sempre~~Dave wont mind if it is off topic... we will blame him for peaking both your and my curiosity.
Sempre's Link
The articles I have read say Mark Adamczyk was incarcerated for civil contempt for a blog post against court orders and not for missing a court hearing.
Sempre~~Holy mackerel, that is one big can of worms you opened. All the time I was reading it, guess who I was thinking of? His initials are J Mc.......lol
Snoopy, here is a bit more, all be it, biased information regarding the civil case. Seems to me Judge Dickey inherited this mess. Talk about accusations flying.
Dave, you really need to use caution when providing Snoopy with fodder. :)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/92178585/Press-Release-New-Clean
Snoopy, sorry my links aren't working. Trying to keep you busy fixing them. Definitely a can of worms. I can't find where the Florida Courts or the Federal Courts have heard or ruled on the case. Too bad Dominic Dunn is no longer around. I bet he could get to the bottom of all of this. Sour grapes or no?
Sempre's Link again-be nice to Snoopy for all this hard work
Sempre~~ speaking of sugary grapes, we do not need Dominic Dunne, we have Dave.
Here is another tidbit LOL
What I can't find is anything substantive regarding the allegations against the Multi millionaire. Seems to me the Feds would have become involved if there was any truth to some of the allegations.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/politicians/lawfirm-debeaubien-k/lawfirm-debeaubien-knight-si-b2486.htm
Snoops, I can't figure out why my c&p of links aren't working. I'm almost always nice to you, except when I'm arguing with you. LOL
I'm telling you, the mudslinging going on with this family is incredible. I say Judge Dickey gets a pass on this one. Seems to me, young Adamczyk was thumbing his nose at the "system". I've heard that is a no no. At least if you enjoy your freedom. LOL
Sempre~~I just mailed you the code to make your links clickable....
Ok snoops, but first, you have to read and fix this one. LOL
Apparently young Adamczyk represented himself as an attorney before Judge Dickey. At leastt according the they suit filed by Adamczyk
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2010/1201-1400/10-1234_080610_JurisIni.pdf
Next time I will see if I can figure out how to follow your directions.
Sempre's Link
Sempre~~lookey here... legal jargon in Seminole Co or what?
Once in Costa Rica Hutchings now 70 years old feel in love with the 11 year old.
Snoopy, I have been having a field day following this smear campaign. I have no idea whether or not there is any truth to the allegations, but Mark has been a busy young man over the past several years. There was an answer filed to his brief, but as far as I can tell, the case has not been heard. I assume Florida Supreme Court may have refused to hear the case, so it has now been filed in Federal Court and now includes Judge Dickey, but I can't find anything to support that conclusion. I will leave that search up to you since you (and Dave) opened that can of worms.
However, I do believe the campaign against Judge Dickey regarding this mess is a bit of a stretch. So now that I have stayed up far later than I should have and have totally taken over Dave's new post with unrelated material, I shall take my leave for the night.
Sempre~~I have had enough of this whole mess. It reads like some horror movie. I am not sure if I just read facts or fiction.
Thanks for hanging in here with me.
Dave, you have my permission to swipe all my comments. I must say that the link to Judge Alan Dickey proved to be highly entertaining for the most part
Sempre~~you had the can opener. Remember, I passed it to you. Nitey nite.
I really dont expect to see O`mara appeal this , I think he gave it a shot and now will move on. Poor Georgie thought all this money was gonna continue to pour in while he paid off his bills and future bills as well for phone, etc - he really isnt very smart and for the first time I am thinking he just might see if he can get an agreement to a manslaughter charge. He is very much backing himself into a corner and I think he is gonna begin to really feel it soon. Or if the rumour that if he gets Baez for a lawyer then his legal bills will be paid, is true, then maybe he will go this route but at this point I would be very surprised to see Omara take this any further, imo, an appeal wont get him anywhere except a delay for many months which his client can definitely not afford. Wouldnt the judge have researched to see if this could be won on an appeal ? The facts of the lies and the phone calls back up what the Judge said and Omara tried to call the judges bluff imo If it worked then ok cool and if not then oh well , we tried and lost. The facts of what George and his wife tried to do is all there in the tape recordings and Omara tried to gloss over it but the Judge wasnt buying it and with the transcripts of the calls we heard that they discussed suitcases and not being totally honest with their lawyer so the Judge is right in questioning if Georges plan was to run. And sheesh if the Anthony`s didnt need all this security people then I sure dont see it for Georgie. I must say I see Georgie as a spineless little creature when he isnt wielding a gun and I am most happy to see that he isnt gonna pull this off the way he thought it was gonna go. I wonder if Omara still has any hair left and whether he still really wants to be the lawyer in this case. It almost seems like he is staining his good reputation. Good luck on getting permission for George to travel out of the state., do you think this will really get filed now ?
Dave: Below you will find a link to an old video from May of this year. What I find interesting is the fact that 'ABC 7' actually had a reporter go into the neighborhood, and film little bits of the area where the shooting occurred. Even doing it on a dark, rainy night.
It really is very, very dark. Watch around the 1:04 minute mark--just prior to this mark they insert a short clip of Mr. Taaffe at the 'T' intersection (where George's keys and tiny flashlight--turned on--were found), then they fade him out and return to the 'dark rainy night' with the camera pointing straight down to where Trayvon's remains were discovered.
This video really helped me to understand why the witness accounts of the events of that evening vary so much.
Anyway, it's just a short little video to check out if you have a minute.
ABC 7 (WJLA) – VIDEO | What Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman might have seen that night
Elmosmommy: From the interviews I saw Mr. O'Mara do yesterday, I really got the impression that he, himself, is more that willing to accept the judge's decision and move on.
However, I think he is putting a lot of effort into getting Georgie to agree. I wouldn't be surprised if George wins. lol
Once they get the 'judge' issue settled, I think we will most definitely see the motion to allow him to travel out of state. Georgie is not happy wherever he is right now, and wants something done about it.
Here is a video from Click Orlando with a few clips from Mark O'Mara. (Tony Pipitone reporting.)
WKMG (Click Orlando) | VIDEO & Write-Up |Judge to stay on in George Zimmerman case
Dave~~this is off topic but a mind boggling set of circumstances. Maybe some of your readers can figure this one out.
In a bizarre and deadly twist from my neck of the woods, a Mississippi mother has accused the Jonesboro, Arkansas Police Department of executing her 21-year-old son while he sat handcuffed in the back of a squad car.
According to the police report, 21-year-old Chavis Chacobie Carter was just a passenger in a vehicle with two other men, when one of the police officers found marijuana and some plastic baggies in his possession—causing him to be detained. And it was also reported that he had a warrant for a missed court date on drug charges in Mississippi.
Due to the extenuating circumstances, Carter was allegedly placed in handcuffs and searched two times before he was then placed into the back seat of the squad car alone, but things would become quite murky after that.
According to KAIT, after Carter was tucked away in the back of the squad car with his hands handcuffed behind his back, the two officers stepped away to question the other two men. During that time, one of the officers claimed that he heard a ‘loud thump with a metallic sound’ as a car passed by—leading the officers to believe that the passing vehicle had struck a piece of metal as it passed.
After questioning and then releasing the other two men, they then realized that Carter had been shot, as he was found in a ‘sitting position slumped forward with his head in his lap’ with his hands still cuffed behind his back with a handgun reportedly found beside him
Read more here....
Will the death of handcuffed Chavis Chacobie Carter be the next Trayvon Martin?
For anyone who likes to study body language, here is a youtube video that may be interesting.
Zimmerman's body language
Sean Hannity asks GZ If he regreted getting out of his Truck to FOLLOW..Trayvon.GZ says no....? So what happened to I was never following him only looking for street signs...? I M O GZ had no idea his non emergancy call was recorded that night..Thats why he blatatantly lied dureing his walk through re what he said to the dispatcher an what dispatcher said to him...He weaves a little bit of truth into events thinking a dispatcher would never remember ver batim the converstion that night..He is lucid when writting the script .However later on when he is asked to sit down an retell his movements whilst listening to the non emergancy call his memory goes blank? Where are you when you said this George ? Cant remember...Cant remember..As I said George has total recallwhen he writes the script..But cant deal with factuall events...
ecossie possie: Yep, and another 'questionable' statement to come from Georgie's interview with Hannity was when he said he had never heard of Florida's 'Stand-Your-Ground' law, (until it became applicable to his circumstances.)
I'll just quote a little paragraph from Judge Lester's Order Setting Bail | Page 2:
Quote: Under any definition, the Defendant has flouted the system. Counsel has attempted to portray the Defendant as being a confused young man who was fearful and experienced a moment of weakness and who may also have acted out of a sense of “betrayal” by the system. Based upon all of the evidence presented, this Court finds the opposite. The Defendant has tried to manipulate the system when he has been presented the opportunity to do so. He is an adult by every legal definition; Trayvon Martin is the only male whose youth is relevant to this case. The Defendant has taken courses in criminal justice with the intentions of becoming a police officer, an attorney, a judge, or a magistrate like his father. He has been arrested before, having entered and successfully completed a pre-trial intervention program. He has also obtained an injunction and had an injunction entered against him. The injunction against him has obviously been dissolved at some point for him to have validly obtained a permit to carry the firearm used to shoot Trayvon Martin. He also had the wherewithal to set up a website to collect donations to help defray the costs of his defense. Thus, before this tragic incident, the Defendant had a very sophisticated knowledge of the criminal justice system over and above that of the average, law-abiding citizen. End Quote
I find it so hard to believe that someone from Zimmerman's background (lol as pointed out by the Judge), would be ignorant of the above stated law.
Dave ~~do you know anything about the following...
1-Judge Kenneth R. Lester set a date for a so-called docket sounding 8:30 a.m., Aug. 8.
2- The release of the toxicology report to the defense
3-Release of Trayvon's and Dee Dee's phone records.
4-Is August the 8th, the deadline for the state to hand over discovery to the defense?
[No, I'm not aware of it yet, Snoopy. It would be of special interest if O'Mara files a motion to stay AND a motion to appeal Lester's order. I'll take a poke around...]
Dave~~Judge Lester is handling the following case. It will be interesting to see if Anita Smithey will get immunity on SYG. Here is the 911 call she made right after she shot her husband. I predict she will not get immunity but I am never right. If Judge Lester denies Smithey immunity, you can rest assured that Zimmerman doesn't have a prayer in h of getting it.
Murder suspect on 911 call: 'I don't want him to die'
Dave~~I found the following. August 8th is said to be a pre-trial hearing and Zimmerman has to be present.
Judge Kenneth Lester approved a request from Zimmerman’s lawyer for more time to prepare his case, but he ordered that the suspect appear at the hearing on August 8, according to court documents released Wednesday.
BTW, this hearing was scheduled quite a while ago and I am not sure if it is still a go.
I think the show will go on as far as the judge is concerned and I'll explain why in my post about a possible appeal. I hope I get it posted before O'Mara makes a statement on it, but I will say that an appeal may not be forthcoming.
Realizing that I am once again going off topic, I would like to revisit one key action of GZ immediately following Trayvon's death. Why did he move out of his home within days and go into hiding? Has that ever been fully explained? Several weeks passed before there was any major scrutiny of his actions from the public. So why has he claimed he was forced to leave right after the shooting. The only questions being asked of him were by the police. He had his BFFL and neighbor Frank standing in his corner, and at that point many of his other neighbors seemed to be supportive of him. So why run away? he says he was in fear for his life. Who at that point did he have to fear? I might understand moving so I didn't have to come face to face with Trayvon's parents, but why hide? Why leave the state? Why immediately quit his job?
It makes me tend to agree with Judge Lester. GZ was attempting to position himself to leave the country if things began to go south.
[Great question and excellent points. I think he was aware, all along, of his actions and what they portended. Outwardly, he shows naiveté, but inside, he is quite shrewd and calculating. He's a chameleon.]
Sempre, flight indicates guilt. You made some great points. I have been on and off topic all day.
Want some fodder.... BTW, Judge Dickey is 68 and Judge Lester is 58...
Injustice in a Seminole County Courtroom
Dave~~I have been following this case closely to see how Judge Lester will rule.
The Smithey stand your ground hearing is expected to end mid-afternoon, but Lester says he'll allow attorneys for both sides to later file written supplemental argument, meaning his decision is at least several days away.
Read it all here...
George Zimmerman judge to rule later in unrelated stand your ground case
[I guess we'll have to wait until next week. It's clear he doesn't work on our time.]