Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media
Motions by Fort Bend County Choose KP George to recuse the justices presiding over his prison circumstances had been dismissed by an administrative choose.
George, a former Democrat who just lately introduced a swap to the Republican social gathering, is dealing with two felony cash laundering expenses. Prosecutors allege he additionally labored with a former staffer to pretend racist assaults towards his personal marketing campaign on social media. The county choose is dealing with a misdemeanor cost of misrepresentation of identification in reference to that case.
In current months, George’s attorneys have filed motions to recuse the judges overseeing his court docket circumstances. They’ve argued that there’s a potential battle of curiosity as a result of George helps oversee the courts’ budgets as a member of Fort Bend County Commissioners Court docket.
Final Friday, an administrative choose denied these motions, permitting the present justices to proceed presiding over George’s felony and misdemeanor court docket circumstances.
“We imagine the choose made the fitting ruling, and even Mr. George’s lawyer mentioned … that he believed the judges may very well be neutral,” Wesley Wittig, the second assistant district lawyer for Fort Bend County, instructed Houston Public Media. “He is extra frightened in regards to the look of issues.”
George’s lawyer, Jared Woodfill, mentioned he requested for an outdoor choose to preside over his shopper’s circumstances as a result of there may very well be a perceived battle of curiosity.
“The executive choose noticed it in a different way and so we transfer ahead,” Woodfill mentioned. “We nonetheless imagine our case is extraordinarily robust and we look ahead to proving Choose George’s innocence.”
County Court docket at Regulation 5 Choose Teana Watson, who oversees George’s misdemeanor case, declined to remark, in accordance with her court docket coordinator. District Court docket Choose Maggie Perez-Jaramillo, who’s presiding over George’s felony circumstances, was not instantly obtainable for remark Thursday.
