LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The man charged with murdering a Las Vegas journalist filed a motion asking for the judge in his case to be removed due to her alleged “deep-seated bias.”
Robert Telles was indicted by a grand jury in October 2022 and charged with the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, 69, who was found stabbed to death outside his Summerlin home on September 3, 2022. Telles was arrested by Las Vegas police four days later.
In a December 17 motion filed in Clark County District Court, Telles moved for the disqualification of Judge Michelle Leavitt because she “demonstrates a deep-seated favoritism for the Clark County District Attorney (the ‘DA’) and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (’Metro’).”
The defendant alleged that the judge’s bias “has made and will continue to make fair judgment impossible.” The filing continued by raising several specific points, including accusing the judge of “more likely than not colluding with the DA” and “likely attempting to allow the DA to prejudice Defendant in the eyes of the press and the public.”
“If Judge Leavitt is not disqualified, her deep-seated favoritism for the DA and Metro will very likely cause her to make future rulings that will substantially violate Defendant’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury trial,” the motion claimed.
Telles previously tried and failed to get the same judge removed from his case in March, alleging that the judge antagonized him during a hearing. Judge Jerry Wiese denied the request and said he didn’t see a problem in how Judge Leavitt treated Telles.
A hearing on the latest motion is scheduled for Judge Wiese’s courtroom on January 11, 2024.
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