Seminole County Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler on Wednesday disqualified herself from hearing the case against George Zimmerman.
Recksiedler stepped aside because of her husband’s connection to a lawyer who will be a TV commentator on the case against Zimmerman, who is accused of second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford in February. One other judge in the circuit has also said he has a conflict, putting Judge Kenneth M. Lester, Jr., in line to preside over the case, which will be one of the most watched in the nation this year.
“Even though Judge Recksiedler had to grant the motion for disqualification in this case, she is very capable of presiding over this or any other criminal case and I have complete confidence in Judge Lester as well,” the circuit’s chief judge, Alan Dickey, said in a statement.
Recksiedler’s husband is a law partner of Mark NeJame who has been hired by CNN to provide analysis of the Zimmerman case, and who recommended Zimmerman’s attorney to the defendant.
NeJame was approached by Zimmerman to defend him, but NeJame had already been hired by CNN, and recommended several lawyers, including Mark O’Mara, who agreed to represent Zimmerman.
