A judge on Monday rejected a motion by prosecutors to remove her from the Aaron Hernandez murder trial.
Assistant District Attorney William McCauley had clashed with Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh in the past and sought her recusal, saying she has displayed chronic bias against prosecutors and the government, an allegation Garsh bluntly dismissed.
“I harbor no bias against the Commonwealth or against First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley or against the defendant,’’ Garsh said in court Monday. “... A person aware of all the facts and circumstances would not question my impartiality."
After a 2010 murder trial, McCauley blasted Garsh in an interview, saying the judge showed “antagonism” toward the government throughout the case. Defense lawyers in that case defended Garsh as fair, and Hernandez's team opposed the prosecution's move this time as well.
Garsh was assigned the cluster of cases connected with former New England Patriots tight end Hernandez last month after he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the death of his friend, Odin Lloyd, in North Attleborough, Mass.
Defense attorney James Sultan argued Monday that prosecutors had no evidence to remove Garsh from the case, calling the move "utterly frivolous."
Two friends of Hernandez, his cousin, as well as his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins, also faces charges stemming from the case. All have pleaded not guilty.
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