SANFORD – The judge hearing the George Zimmerman case today announced that her husband works for the law firm of Mark NeJame, who's been hired as a CNN analyst for this case.
Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler said she had an ethical obligation to disclose that and allow Zimmerman's attorney or the special prosecutor to ask her to step down.
No one's made that request yet, but Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said he may next week.
If he does, she's almost certain to grant his motion.
All that O'Mara must show is that his client has a reasonable belief that the judge might not be fair, said Altamonte Springs attorney Steve Laurence.
The judge scheduled the 10-minute hearing on her own, specifically to tell attorneys about the issue.
Zimmerman did not appear. Neither did the attorneys, who were tied into the courtroom by phone.
Zimmerman called NeJame's law firm March 15 and talked to lawyer Eric Barker, saying he wanted the firm to represent him, NeJame said Friday. NeJame decided no, he said, largely because he has daughters ages 2 and 6, and several other businesses.
Two weeks ago, NeJame signed on with CNN, he said. Earlier this week, a friend who was in daily contact with Zimmerman called NeJame's firm again and asked that NeJame take the case.
That time, NeJame said, he again said no and recommended several attorneys, including O'Mara.
The judge's husband, Jason Recksiedler, is a partner at NeJame's firm, heading the personal injury section, Nejame said.
Bernie de la Rionda, the lead prosecutor in the case, said he had no intention of asking the judge to disqualify herself.
In an unrelated side note, the judge also announced that Zimmerman will have a bond hearing April 20.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin, a black, unarmed 17-year-old.
In a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday, prosecutors alleged that Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, pursued Trayvon, frightened him, confronted him then shot him during a struggle.
The account is strikingly similar to the story that Trayvon's parents, the family's attorneys and civil-rights leaders have told for weeks — that Trayvon was an innocent victim hunted down and killed because he was black.
Notably absent is Zimmerman's account. In that version, Zimmerman is the victim. He told police and his family that he had stopped following Trayvon, from Miami Gardens, and was returning to his SUV when the teenager approached him. He said the two exchanged words, Trayvon knocked him to the ground and then began hammering his head against a sidewalk.
During his first court appearance Thursday, Zimmerman said just two words, "Yes, sir," when asked by Seminole County Judge Mark Herr if he understood that he was charged with second-degree murder.
Herr found the affidavit legally sufficient to establish probable cause and ordered Zimmerman to appear for arraignment — when defendants formally enter a plea — on May 29.
For now, Zimmerman is being held in the Seminole County jail without bond in "administrative confinement," away from other inmates.
more quibbling? 
I haven't drawn any conclusions.
