Free Republic

A Sanford judge today ruled that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi does not have to answer defense attorneys' questions under oath in a mammoth Internet casino gambling case pending in Seminole County. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. made that ruling this morning.The case involves more than 50 defendants, accused of violating the state's gambling, racketeering and money laundering laws by operating Internet cafes that prosecutors say served as storefront gambling parlors. Each had ties to the non-profit Allied Veterans of the World, a group that provided charity to military veterans but, according to authorities, donated just two percent of its...

George Zimmerman Is Getting A New Judge After He Alleges Flagrant Bias Abby Rogers Aug. 29, 2012, 5:24 PM They said it was a "close call," but three judges for Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled George Zimmerman deserves a new judge. Zimmerman's lawyer requested a new judge last month, saying Judge Kenneth Lester is blatantly biased against his client. Lester has steadfastly refused to step down, claiming attorney Mark O'Mara's request was "legally insufficient." But now, it looks like Lester doesn't get a choice. The Fifth Circuit ruled Lester should "enter an order of disqualification which requests the...

Judge denies Zimmerman's motion to disqualify him in Trayvon Martin caseGeorge Zimmerman's motion to disqualify Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. from the Trayvon Martin shooting case was denied Wednesday. The ruling was issued by Lester following Zimmerman's filing of the motion last month which claimed Lester's comments in an earlier bond order led him to believe Lester was prejudiced against him. Lester had said in the order that Zimmerman and his wife misled him about their finances. In his motion, Zimmerman argues that Lester made "gratuitous, disparaging remarks" about his character in a July 5 ruling setting Zimmerman's bond at...

The Trayvon Martin case's Judge Lester has made a judicial misstep about the George Zimmerman bond revocation. And it's a misstep which only serves to increase the racial tensions in the country, unnecessarily. Judge Lester contends that the Trayvon Martin shooter’s bond had to be revoked because the suspect lied during his first bond hearing about the state of his finances, and that his wife, Shellie, did too, telling the court that the two were practically broke, which led to a $150,000 bail instead of the $1 million sought by the prosecution. But the judge isn’t giving the public all...